Clay v. United States

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Clay v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 19, 1971 Decided June 28, 1971
Full case name: Clay, AKA Ali v. United States Citations: 403 U.S. 698 Prior history: 430 F.2d 165 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Holding
Since the Appeal Board gave no reason for the denial of a conscientious objector exemption to petitioner, and it is impossible to determine on which of the three grounds offered in the Justice Department's letter that board relied, petitioner's conviction must be reversed.
Court membership
Chief Justice: Warren E. Burger Associate Justices: Hugo Black, William O. Douglas, John Marshall Harlan II, William J. Brennan, Jr, Potter Stewart, Byron White, Thurgood Marshall, Harry Blackmun
Case opinions
Majority by: per curiam Concurrence by: Douglas Concurrence by: Harlan Marshall took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.

Clay v. United States, 403 U.S. 698 (1971), was boxer Muhammad Ali's appeal of his conviction for refusing to report for induction into the United States military forces during the Vietnam War. His local draft board had rejected his application for conscientious objector classification. In a unanimous 8-0 ruling, the United States Supreme Court reversed the Fifth Circuit court's affirmation of the conviction.

[edit] See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 403

The Supreme Court of the United States found that Ali's conscientious objector status was valid, notwithstanding the government's argument that it was based upon politics and racial considerations.

[edit] References

• Text file of Supreme Court opinion at Findlaw.com