Kennedy v. Mendoza-Martinez - 372 U.S. 144, 83 S. Ct. 554 (1963)

Rule:

Section 401(j) of the Nationality Act of 1940, 58 Stat. 746, and § 349(a)(10) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, 8 U.S.C.S. § 1481(a)(10) are invalid because in them Congress has plainly employed the sanction of deprivation of nationality as a punishment -- for the offense of leaving or remaining outside the country to evade military service -- without affording the procedural safeguards guaranteed by the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.

Facts:

Both appellees were native-born citizens of the United States. Mendoza-Martinez was ordered deported as an alien and Cort was denied a passport to enable him to return to the United States, both on the ground that they had lost their citizenship by remaining outside of the jurisdiction of the United States in time of war or national emergency for the purpose of evading or avoiding training and service in the Nation's armed forces. Both sued for relief in Federal District Courts, which rendered judgments declaring that the relevant statutes, § 401 (j) of the Nationality Act of 1940, as amended, and § 349 (a)(10) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, were unconstitutional. The United States appealed from the decisions. 

Issue:

Were § 401(j) of the Nationality Act of 1940, 58 Stat. 746, and § 349(a)(10) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, 8 U.S.C.S. § 1481(a)(10), unconstitutional?

Answer:

Yes.

Conclusion:

The Supreme Court held that § 401(j) of the Nationality Act of 1940, 58 Stat. 746, and § 349(a)(10) of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952, 8 U.S.C.S. § 1481(a)(10) were unconstitutional. Specifically, the Court determined that the statutes were punitive and as such could not constitutionally stand, lacking as they did the procedural safeguards that the Constitution commanded. Although the Court determined that appellees should have been punished for draft evasion, the punishment could not be imposed without due process of law. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the judgment of the lower courts.