William O. Douglas

“ There is no doubt concerning the propriety of the latter criminal sanction, for Congress has specifically provided for the punishment of those who disobey selective service statutes and regulations in § 12 of the Military Selective Service Act of 1967, 50 U.S.C. App. § 462 (1964 ed., Supp. IV) . The question posed by this case concerns the legitimacy of the delinquency regulations which were applied to the petitioner, so as to deprive him of his previous standing in the order of call. ”

“ Moreover, those who have not reached the age of 19 are given a deferred position in the order of call. But those variations in the phrase 'in an impartial manner' are of no particular help in the instant case, except to underline the concern of Congress with the integrity of that phrase.
We know from the legislative history that, while Congress did not address itself specifically to the 'delinquency' issue, it was vitally concerned with the order of selection, as well as with exemptions and deferments. ”

“ This procedure made it possible for the boards to siphon into military service some delinquents who might otherwise have traveled to jail:
'Since the purpose of the (selective service) law is to provide men for the military establishment rather than for the penitentiaries, it would seem that when a registrant is willing to be inducted, he should not be prosecuted for minor offenses committed during his processing.' Selective Service System, Legal Aspects of Selective Service 47 (Rev.1969) .
In November 1943, a new and substantially different set of regulations was issued. ”

“ The power under the regulations to declare a registrant 'delinquent' has no statutory standard or even guidelines. The power is exercised entirely at the discretion of the local board. It is a broad, roving authority, a type of administrative absolutism not congenial to our law-making traditions. ”

“ In the case of a registrant who was not reclassified as a result of his delinquency, the local board could 'reopen' the classification and accord rights of personal appearance and appeal 'at any time before induction.' 32 CFR § 642.14 (b) (Supp.1943) . If the local board determined that the registrant 'knowingly became a delinquent,' however, it was directed to decline to reopen the registrant's classification. Ibid.
With respect to those registrants who were given appeal rights under § 642.14, the appeal board would determine if they had 'knowingly' become delinquents. ”

“ Some of these protests took the form of turning 'draft' cards in to various public officials of the Department of Justice, the State or National Headquarters of Selective Service System, or directly to local boards. ”