Dr. Audrey S. Koh v. Secretary of the Air Force

The Secretary of the Air Force (“Secretary”) appeals from the district court’s judgment, 559 F.Supp. 852 , that the Secretary lacked a “basis in fact” to deny Dr. Audrey S. Koh’s application for conscientious objector status. In Taylor v. Claytor, 601 F.2d 1102 (9th Cir.1979), we discussed the standard of judicial review of the military’s denial of conscientious objector status:

601 F.2d at 1103 .

We mention here three of the five “facts” upon which the Secretary based the denial. First, Koh’s two previous applications for discharge were based upon grounds other than an opposition to war in any form. In these earlier applications, Koh alleged that she had been misled about the terms of her military commitment, and that the overall milieu of the military was not compatible with her own expectations or lifestyle. Koh objected to the bureaucracy, regimentation, isolation, and sexism of the military, but Koh did not express moral, religious, or philosophical opposition to war. Second, Koh submitted her conscientious objector claim one month after receiving active duty orders. While the timing of a conscientious objector claim cannot be the only basis for a finding of insincerity, it…