Miller v. Chafee

324 F. Supp. 1344, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14412
CourtDistrict Court, D. Hawaii
DecidedFebruary 26, 1971
DocketCiv. No. 71-3805
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 324 F. Supp. 1344 (Miller v. Chafee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Hawaii primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miller v. Chafee, 324 F. Supp. 1344, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14412 (D. Haw. 1971).

Opinion

TAVARES, District Judge.

The Constitution of the United States, Article I, Section 8, provides that the Congress shall have power “to raise and support Armies”; and to “provide and maintain a Navy.” Article 2, Section 2 provides that “the President shall be Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; * * Without attempting to trace the historical evolutions, the [1345]*1345powers to raise and maintain Armed Forces have been exercised to some degree almost continuously since the founding of this nation. Compulsion to serve in the Armed Forces has existed in some form whenever necessity dictated. Probably the largest conscription of manpower came into being in connection with the crises which beset the Nation during World War II. Currently the broad powers granted to Congress and to the President are being exercised under the “Military Selective Service Act of 1967.” 50 App. U.S.C. § 451 et seq. as amended. Exemptions for those who are “conscientiously opposed” to participation in war appear under 50 App. U.S.C. § 456(j).

The express language of this latter section has been the subject of a considerable amount of interpretation. Suffice it to say that the courts have been flooded and inundated by the rash of objectors. The foundations of the Selective Service System have eroded as though built on quick-sand.

Under the provisions of 50 App. U.S.C. § 456(h) (1) Congress provided that “Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the President shall, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, provide for the deferment from training and service in the Armed Forces of persons satisfactorily pursuing a full-time course of instruction at a college, university, or similar institution of learning and who request such deferment * *

In such a setting, nothing could be more natural than that those who sought to evade military service would and have sought haven, within the hallowed halls of the institutions of higher learning. The seekers of haven also found comradery among kindred souls. Many become so thoroughly imbued with their rationalizations as to seek faculty positions. In such an environment it is little wonder that an aurora of sophistication illumed a pathway for more to follow and upon which even the unwary seeking the light of learning would readily tread. Books have been written and courses created. To question any achievement of higher education may be almost as unheard of as to challenge the institution of motherhood, but this Court will brave that somewhat.

Exhibit “C” attached to the Petition herein is the finest, most thorough and complete, first hand account, which has come to this Court’s attention, of the step-by-step havoc wrought upon a particular student by a pseudo-intellectual environment. The petitioner’s biographical summation is replete with the names of his associates and instructors, together with publications which contributed to his thinking processes. It is also replete with terminology of the day and the jargon of the activists. The self-analysis contained therein is something like what the medical doctor does who would diagnose his own ills and prescribe the cure therefor, or, the lawyer who serves as his own attorney. It is ironical in this instance that the United States Government bought and paid for the so-called “education” to which the petitioner was exposed. The exhibit, in and of itself, is a thoroughly documented exposé of the subtle subversions of thought to which this particular young man was subjected. It may be reasonable to assume that it may be typical of a pattern and may offer some explanation as to why so many young people succumb to the thoughts and teachings of the self-proclaimed intellectuals of our day.

A school-oriented education has been described as a “short-cut to experience but by no means a substitute.” Another approach dictates that education teaches an abundance of basic facts to which abstract thought may be applied. A child learns to walk, run, jump and swim, but merely learning to do these things is quite different from excelling in the sports of Olympic Competition wherein such accomplishments are put to their highest and best use. For a young man just completing his under-graduate work to come to a belief that he has found all of the answers so soon after having learned to think, is, it seems to me, unfortunate. One can only wonder if this [1346]*1346same mistake does not guide the activity of other collegiate activists. When instructors and faculty members join the sundry demonstrations and movements, it may be that they, too, suffer from a sort of mental adolescence, but their influence is no less effective.

Max Lerner, in a recent syndicated column, points out that the U. S. Census figures show the number of college students in the United States grew from 4.6 to 7.4 million during the last half of the 1960’s.

We can quite reasonably deduce that the content of Exhibit “C” provides some insight into draft evasion, conscientious objection and peace at any price. The same environment probably spawns snarling violence, the seizure of, or destruction of buildings, hatred of police, revolt toward the Establishment, the drug scene, parental resentment, a loathing for law and order and uproar in the court rooms.

In this case the petitioner recites a childhood of frequent beatings. He relates that he was the frequent and primary target for the intoxicated wrath of an alcoholic father. He enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17 and served for a period of five years. He served in submarines and from what is shown in the record, made rather exceptional progress. He was selected to attend college under the NESEP Program and obtained a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington. Although the record does not specifically establish the petitioner’s obligation to serve the Navy, it is believed that the individual obligates himself to serve about nine months for each six-months of schooling, which the Navy provides to him. After completing college, this young man attended and completed Officer’s Candidate School and was commissioned an Ensign in the United States Navy.

An in-service engineering course was then attended and completed. Almost immediately after reporting for his first post-school duty as an officer, Ensign Miller began to compile a record to place before the Bureau of Naval Personnel, seeking discharge from the United States Navy as a conscientious objector, under BUPERS NOTE 1900 promulgated on August 21,1970, which authorized release for beliefs based on nonreligious grounds. The NOTE was undoubtedly designed by the Navy to Accommodate the decision of the United States Supreme Court in Welsh v. United States, 398 U.S. 333, 90 S.Ct. 1792, 26 L.Ed.2d 308 (1970).

From the record presented, it is apparent that the petitioner has exhausted the administrative remedies available to him in the Navy. In this connection, I cite, Craycroft v. Farrell, 397 U.S. 335, 25 L.Ed.2d 351, 90 S.Ct. 1152.

This Court does not intend to trace the evolution of Conscientious Objector cases which are so legion in the reported cases. Suffice it to say that administrative agency determinations will only be overturned when no basis in fact can be found to sustain the determination. Among other cases, I cite Witmer v.

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324 F. Supp. 1344, 1971 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14412, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miller-v-chafee-hid-1971.