United States v. Seeger
Encyclopedia
United States v. Seeger, 380 U.S. 163
(1965), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court
ruled that the exemption from the military draft for conscientious objector
s could not be reserved only for those professing conformity with the moral directives of a supreme being, but also for those whose views on war derived from a "sincere and meaningful belief which occupies in the life of its possessor a place parallel to that filled by the God of those" who had routinely gotten the exemption.
The case resolved, on diverse but related grounds, three cases, each involving conviction for failure to accept induction into the armed forces
on the part of someone who sought conscientious objector status without "belong[ing] to an orthodox religious sect". The accused, whose cases were otherwise unrelated, were Arno Sascha Jakobson, Forest Britt Peter, and Daniel Andrew Seeger
; it was Seeger's case that gave its name to the multi-case decision.
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1965), was a case in which the United States Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
ruled that the exemption from the military draft for conscientious objector
Conscientious objector
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, and/or religion....
s could not be reserved only for those professing conformity with the moral directives of a supreme being, but also for those whose views on war derived from a "sincere and meaningful belief which occupies in the life of its possessor a place parallel to that filled by the God of those" who had routinely gotten the exemption.
The case resolved, on diverse but related grounds, three cases, each involving conviction for failure to accept induction into the armed forces
Armed forces
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
on the part of someone who sought conscientious objector status without "belong[ing] to an orthodox religious sect". The accused, whose cases were otherwise unrelated, were Arno Sascha Jakobson, Forest Britt Peter, and Daniel Andrew Seeger
Daniel Seeger
Daniel Andrew Seeger is a retired American non-profit-business administrator, and a Quaker religion and social-issue writer, who was earlier a defendant in a case on conscription of pacifists that was decided by the Supreme Court....
; it was Seeger's case that gave its name to the multi-case decision.
Further reading
- In stillness there is fullness: a peacemaker's harvest: essays and reflections in honor of Daniel A. Seeger's four decades of Quaker service; edited by Peter Bien and Chuck FagerChuck FagerCharles Eugene Fager , known as Chuck Fager, is an American activist, an author, an editor, a publisher and an outspoken and prominent member of the Religious Society of Friends. He is known for his work in both the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and in the Peace movement...
, Belfonte, Pennsylvania, Kimo Press, ISBN 0-947177-17-8. This festschrift includes:- "Excerpts from and comments on a Thesis called 'The challenge to the Supreme Court of the case United States v. Seeger" by Margery W. Rubin
- "The Seeger decision" by L. William Yolton
- "The Supreme Court decision"