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Us V Seeger

The document summarizes the Supreme Court case US v Seeger which involved three cases of conscientious objectors seeking an exemption from military service under the Universal Military Training and Service Act of 1958. The Act provided an exemption for those whose religious beliefs prevented them from serving in the military. The Court ruled that the test for religious belief under the exemption is whether the belief occupies a place parallel to that of God for traditional religious believers, and that local boards should only determine the sincerity of objectors' beliefs, not require adherence to specific religious doctrines. The Court found that all three applicants qualified for the exemption under the broad construction of the Act.

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Sanjeev SangEr
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82 views1 page

Us V Seeger

The document summarizes the Supreme Court case US v Seeger which involved three cases of conscientious objectors seeking an exemption from military service under the Universal Military Training and Service Act of 1958. The Act provided an exemption for those whose religious beliefs prevented them from serving in the military. The Court ruled that the test for religious belief under the exemption is whether the belief occupies a place parallel to that of God for traditional religious believers, and that local boards should only determine the sincerity of objectors' beliefs, not require adherence to specific religious doctrines. The Court found that all three applicants qualified for the exemption under the broad construction of the Act.

Uploaded by

Sanjeev SangEr
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

22. US v SEEGER stated that there was "some power manifest in nature ...

the
supreme expression" that helps man in ordering his life. He was
FACTS: convicted in the United States District Court for the Northern
District of California and his conviction was affirmed by the
1. These three cases involve the exemption claims under section Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
6(j) of the Universal Military Training and Service Act of
conscientious objectors who did not belong to an orthodox ISSUE: WON their beliefs would fall under the exemption
religious sect. mentioned in section 6(j) of the Universal Military Training and
Service Act of 1958
2. Section 6(j) of the Universal Military Training and Service
Act of 1958 offered an exemption from military service for HELD: YES.
conscientious objectors, provided that their belief in a Supreme
Being requires duties that are superior to those arising from The test of religious belief within the meaning of the exemption
commands of any human relation. in 6 (j) is whether it is a sincere and meaningful belief occupying
in the life of its possessor a place parallel to that filled by the
The Three Cases God of those admittedly qualified for the exemption.
A.) Seeger believed that "the cosmic order does, perhaps,
suggest a creative intelligence" and he criticized the tremendous The exemption does not cover those who oppose war from a
"spiritual" price man must pay for his willingness to destroy merely personal moral code nor those who decide that war is
human life. He was convicted in the District Court for the wrong on the basis of essentially political, sociological or
Southern District of New York for refusing to register in the economic considerations rather than religious belief.
Armed Forces. His conviction was reversed by the Court of
Appeals for the Second Circuit. Local boards and courts are to decide whether the objector's
beliefs are sincerely held and whether they are, in his own
B.) Jakobson believed in a "Supreme Being" who created scheme of things, religious: they are not to require proof of the
mankind, and in a "Supreme Reality" which resulted in the religious doctrines nor are they to reject beliefs because they are
existence of mankind. He was similarly convicted, and his not comprehensible.
conviction reversed by the Court of Appeals for the Second
Circuit. Under the broad construction applicable to 6 (j) the applications
involved in these cases, none of which was based on merely
C.) Peter, although not sure of his belief in a "Supreme Being," personal moral codes, qualified for exemption.

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