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Opinion

c31:No. 74-1613

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · 1976-04-29

· GavelSight synced 2026-09-06 03:21:02

KOELSCH, Circuit Judge
(dissenting):
In Astrup the Court, indicating that the operation of Section 3(a) of the Selective Service and Training Act was governed by well settled principles of contract law, ruled that the exemption from military service granted the resident alien by the United States constituted the quid in return for the alien’s quo, in the form of his permanent ineligibility to become a citizen of the United States.
In the matter before us, the majority hedges the government’s promise with implied conditions and limitations for which bases are lacking. Can it be logically contended that the possibility of Argentina’s becoming a belligerent on the side of the allied powers was within the contemplation of the parties at the time the exemption was granted? But what particularly troubles me about the decision is its potential for rendering obscure rights which should be clearly defined and beyond question.
The way to do that, I submit, is to apply the section (and its companion) literally.

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