Massachusetts v. Laird
1970 US Supreme Court case on conscription and the Vietnam War / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Massachusetts v. Laird, 400 U.S. 886 (1970), was a case dealing with the conscription aspect of the Vietnam War that the Supreme Court declined to hear by a 6–3 vote.
This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. (February 2009) |
Quick Facts Massachusetts v. Laird, Decided November 9, 1970 ...
Massachusetts v. Laird | |
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Decided November 9, 1970 | |
Full case name | Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Plaintiff v. Melvin R. Laird, Secretary of Defense |
Citations | 400 U.S. 886 (more) 91 S. Ct. 128; 27 L. Ed. 2d 130; 1970 U.S. LEXIS 514 |
Holding | |
Declined to hear the case. | |
Court membership | |
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s | |
Dissent | Douglas |
Dissent | Stewart |
Dissent | Harlan |
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts challenged the constitutionality of the war. It passed a law stating that no resident of Massachusetts "shall be required to serve" in the military abroad if the armed hostility has not been declared a war by Congress. The attorney general of Massachusetts asked the Supreme Court to hear its case to test the legality of the Vietnam War.
The Supreme Court declined to hear the case due to a lack of jurisdiction.