Clay v. United States
403 U.S. 698 · Decided June 28, 1971 · Supreme Court of the United States
Record summary. This page is generated from the Supreme Court Database’s coded data about the case. It describes who decided what, not the Court’s reasoning. Read the opinion itself before relying on it. Not legal advice.
At a glance
Clay v. United States was decided on June 28, 1971 unanimously (8–0). The Court reversed the lower court's decision. The decision was issued per curiam (an unsigned opinion of the Court). SCDB classifies its main issue as “Conscientious objectors” in the First Amendment area.
Read the opinion
Case details
- Citations
- 403 U.S. 698 · 91 S. Ct. 2068 · 29 L. Ed. 2d 810 · 1971 U.S. LEXIS 21
- Docket number
- 783
- Decided
- June 28, 1971
- Argued
- April 19, 1971
- Court era
- Burger Court
- Decision type
- Per curiam (orally argued)
- Disposition
- Reversed
- Outcome for petitioner
- The petitioning party received a favorable disposition
- Vote
- 8–0 (unanimous)
- Opinion assigned by
- Warren E. Burger
- How the case arrived
- Certiorari
- Issue (SCDB)
- Conscientious objectors
- Issue area
- First Amendment
- Legal provision
- Selective Service statutes
- Type of law
- Federal statute
- Decision direction (SCDB)
- Liberal what this means
How the Justices voted
| Justice | Vote | Separate writing |
|---|---|---|
| Justice Hugo L. Black | Majority | |
| Justice William O. Douglas | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice John M. Harlan II | Special concurrence | Wrote an opinion |
| Justice William J. Brennan Jr. | Majority | |
| Justice Potter Stewart | Majority | |
| Justice Byron R. White | Majority | |
| Chief Justice Warren E. Burger | Majority | |
| Justice Harry A. Blackmun | Majority |
Did not participate: Thurgood Marshall.
Full case caption
Clay, aka Ali v. United States
SCDB identifiers: case 1970-143, docket 1970-143-01.
Related decisions
Other cases on “Conscientious objectors”
- McGee v. United States
- Ehlert v. United States
- Gillette v. United States
- United States v. Weller
- Parisi v. Davidson
- Fein v. Selective Service System Local Board No. 7 of Yonkers
Cases on the same legal provision: Selective Service statutes
- Astrup v. Immigration and Naturalization Service
- Toussie v. United States
- Kolden v. Selective Service Local Board No. 4
- Breen v. Selective Service Local Board No. 16
- Gutknecht v. United States
- McKart v. United States
Same Term, same area (First Amendment)
- Blount v. RizziLaw held unconstitutional
- Baird v. State Bar of Arizona
- In re Stolar
- Law Students Civil Rights Research Council, Inc. v. Wadmond
- United States v. Weller
- Monitor Patriot Co. v. Roy
Source: Supreme Court Database, 2026 Release 01 (data file dated September 8, 2026). Imported into CaseTrail November 5, 2026. Coverage: decisions from the 1946 through 2025 Terms. Methodology · Report an error