Robert James Lingo v. United States

Following trial to a jury, appellant was convicted of the offense of violating 50 U.S.C. Appendix Section 462 [refusal to be inducted into the Armed Forces]. He was sentenced to the custody of the Attorney General for a period of three years.

On this appeal, appellant specifies as errors:

1. There is no basis in fact for the 1-A classification given to appellant, and therefore the order to report for induction on March 10, 1966, was void and may not serve as a basis for his conviction.

2. The final 1-A classification is the result of the erroneous application of the “sudden accession of belief” theory to appellant’s situation, and therefore the order to report may not serve as a basis for appellant’s conviction.

In dealing with appellant’s specifications we must bear in mind that our scope of review is limited to the question of whether there is any basis in fact for the classification given to the appellant. Estep v. United States, 327 U.S. 114 , 66 S.Ct. 423 , 90 L.Ed. 567 (1946). As stated in Witmer v. United States, 348 U.S. 375, at pp. 380-381 , 75 S.Ct. 392, at p. 395 , 99 L.Ed. 428 (1955):

The ultimate question to be decided in conscientious objector cases is, as…