Daniel C. Quinn, Ar, United States Navy v. Harold A. Brown

Quinn brought this action against the Navy in the district court, alleging a breach of his enlistment contract. Quinn sought a writ of habeas corpus ordering his discharge, a declaratory judgment that his enlistment contract was null and void, injunc-tive relief, mandamus, and money damages. Following a hearing, the district court granted Quinn’s motion for summary judgment by order dated January 12, 1976, and on January 21, 1976, the court issued a writ of habeas corpus ordering the Navy to release Quinn from its service. The government timely appealed and jurisdiction vested in this court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253.

FACTS

Quinn first visited his local Navy Recruitment Office in San Mateo, California, during his senior year in high school. He returned several months after graduation and took a battery of pre-enlistment examinations. According to his affidavit filed below, Quinn was primarily interested in receiving training as a machinist mate, but failed to qualify for that program on the basis of his examination scores. Quinn was informed that the only Navy “A” school training program he was eligible for was as a foreign language translator, but that such “A”…