William O. Douglas

“ What reason is there for making one specific exception for cases arising in the land or naval forces or in the militia if none of the Fifth Amendment is applicable to military trials? Since the requirement for indictment before trial is the only provision of the Fifth Amendment made inapplicable to military trials, it seems to me clear that the other relevant requirements of the Fifth Amendment (including the ban on coerced confessions) are applicable to them. And if the ban on coerced confessions is applicable, how can it mean one thing in civil trials and another in military trials? ”

“ If a prisoner is coerced by torture or other methods to give the evidence against him, if he is beaten or slowly 'broken' by third-degree methods, then the 'trial' before the military tribunal becomes an empty ritual. The real trial takes place in secret where the accused without benefit of counsel succumbs to physical or psychological pressures. ”

“ But the Court gives binding effect to the ruling of the military tribunal on the constitutional question, provided it has given fair consideration to it.
If the military agency has fairly and conscientiously applied the standards of due process formulated by this Court, I would agree that a rehash of the same facts by a federal court would not advance the cause of justice. ”