University of Virginia Library

Confound Appellate

Thus those who are presently
serving sentences for draft evasion
or draft resistances will, if the
Supreme Court upholds Mr.
Wysanski's decision, have cause for a
reopening thousands of cases in
federal courts. The resulting litigation
could confound the appellate
system in this country for years.
Furthermore, the government could
probably count on thousands of
damage suits for loss of income and
defamation of character, which has
been concomitant with a sentence
of draft resistance (due primarily to
the government's hard line on
violators of the military manpower
acts).

Consideration must also be given
to the nearly 50,000 Americans
who have emigrated from the
United States because of the
present provisions of the system.
Again, the government will have to
drop litigation against these people,
for they will certainly have a
justifiable opportunity to be reimbursed
for having their first amendment
rights violated.