National Coalition for Men v. Selective Service System: Male-Only Conscription is a Misguided Conviction—The Fifth Circuit Is Bound by Stale Supreme Court Precedent

Note by Grace L. Williams

Over 100 years after President Woodrow Wilson signed the first version of the Selective Service Act, the law's progeny continues to openly discriminate against women.

The modern version, the Military Selective Service Act, requires that nearly all men residing in the United States who are between the ages of eighteen and twenty- six register with the Selective Service System the event that there is a draft. Failure to do so may result in repercussions ranging from a fine to imprisonment. Notably, the Act does not require the same of women.

Part II of this Note details the history of the Selective Service System and the male-only draft requirement. Additionally, it describes the Supreme Court's stance on how the lower courts should address cases involving changed factual underpinnings. Part III of this Note outlines how the Fifth Circuit repeatedly emphasized the changed factual circumstances before holding that it is bound by precedent. Finally, Part IV highlights the issues with the Rostker decision, as exemplified by the noted case, and argues that the Supreme Court should reconsider the constitutionality of the male-only draft requirement.


About the Authors

Grace L. Williams, J.D. candidate 2022, Tulane University Law School, B.A. 2019, The University of Texas at Austin.

Citation

95 Tul. L. Rev. 1361 (2021)