U.S. v. Sisson decision finds that the 1967 Selective Service Act is unconstitutional.

U.S. District Court judge Charles Wyzanski Jr. finds that the law discriminates against “atheists, agnostics and men . . . [motivated] by profound moral beliefs which constitute the central convictions of their beings.” “When the law treats a reasonable, conscientious act as a crime, it subverts its own power, Wyzanski writes, “It invites civil disobedience.” The opinion is handed down in the case of John Sisson Jr. of Lincoln, who had been found guilty by a jury in the same court on March 21, 1969 for refusing to be inducted into the armed services.