Clay v. United States
| Clay v. United States | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued April 19, 1971 Decided June 28, 1971 | |
| Full case name | Clay, AKA Ali v. United States |
| Citations | 403 U.S. 698 (more) |
| Case history | |
| Prior | 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 | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | per curiam |
| Concurrence | Douglas |
| Concurrence | Harlan |
| Marshall took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
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.