Draft:Peet v. United States
What was the outcome?
 | |
| Full case name | Peet v. United States |
|---|---|
| Citations | 399 U.S. 523 (more) |
| Case opinion | |
| Majority | Per curiam. |
Peet v. United States was a case over a conscientious objector burning their draft notices heard by the United States Supreme Court in 1970.
Background
[edit]John Roderick Peet requested conscientious objector status from the Selective Service board on December 15, 1966. Eventually, he decided that he would no longer cooperate with the Selective Service system in a letter he sent on August 1, 1967. A day later, he was classified to be drafted into military service. On August 18th, he burned his draft card in front of the Walnut Creek, California City Hall during a 3-day fast to protest the Vietnam War.
Peet was eventually indicted for destruction of a Selective Service Notice of Classification as a result of this action on January 3, 1968. In spite of this, the Selective Service board ordered him for physical examination on January 22. He showed up to the examination station and distributed anti-Vietnam War leaflets. When he refused to surrender the leaflets, he was kicked out.
After being sent delinquency notices and failing to report for induction between the months of February and June, Peet was indicted on October 23, 1968 for destruction of a notice of classification and failing to report for induction.
Lower court proceedings
[edit]Peet pled not guilty and argued that he refused to abide by the draft for religious reasons. He further postulated that he was not guilty of destroying the notice as the law defined the Selective Service classification notice as a "certificate."
He was convicted and sentenced to two concurrent sentences under the Youth Corrections Act.
Ninth Circuit
[edit]The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the conviction and sentence on the basis United States v. O'Brien. The Ninth Circuit also discounted alleged violations of the Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial as Peet allegedly committed a second offense during the interval between the indictment and hearings.[1]
Supreme Court
[edit]In a per curiam opinion combining his case with Guerrieri v. United States , the Supreme Court vacated Peet's sentence and remanded the case back to the United States District Court for the Northern District of California under the jurisdiction of Gutknecht v. United States.[2][3]
References
[edit] | This open draft remains in progress. |
- This open draft remains in progress as of February 24, 2025.