Girouard v. United States
| Girouard v. United States | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued March 4, 1946 Decided April 22, 1946 | |
| Full case name | James Girouard v. United States |
| Citations | 328 U.S. 61 (more) 66 S.Ct. 826; 90 L.Ed. 1084 |
| Holding | |
| Religious pacifism is not a reason to deny a foreigner citizenship. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Douglass, joined by Black, Murphy, Rutledge, Burton (Jackson abstained) |
| Dissent | Stone, joined by Reed, Frankfurter |
Girouard v. United States, 328 U.S. 61 (1946), was a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. It concerned a pacifist applicant for naturalization who in the interview declared not to be willing to fight for the defense of the United States. The case questioned a precedent set by United States v. Schwimmer in 1929 that denied an applicant entry to the United States because of her pacifist stance. Girouard v. United States overturned that precedent by voting in favor of Girouard's religious freedom through allowing him to uphold his Seventh Day Adventist beliefs.[1][2][3]
Details
James Girouard was a Canadian citizen who applied to become an American citizen. When asked if he would fight for the US, he responded "No, I am a Seventh Day Adventist." Girouard stated that he believed in the democratic ideal, but asserted that he was an uncompromising pacifist. The response was similar to Rosika Schwimmer's (United States v. Schwimmer) who said, “My cosmic consciousness of belonging to the human family is shared by all those who believe that all human beings are the children of God.”
Court decision
The Court held in a 5-3 decision that citizenship should be allowed.
Notes
Girouard v. United States overturned three previous Supreme Court decisions. They were:
- United States v. Schwimmer 279 US 644
- United States v. Macintosh 283 US 605
- United States v. Bland 283 US 636