In the Face of Adversity: Muhammad Ali's Conscientious Objection
Booklet "for leave to file petition and petition for writ of mandamus and supporting brief", written by Muhammad Ali's attorney at the time, Hayden C. Covington.
Donated by Lynn Covington Elfers in 2017.
Denied Appeals
After officially being reclassified as eligible for the draft, Muhammad Ali turned to a legal team to appeal the draft board's decision. At the time, Ali had Civil Rights attorney Edward W. Jacko, Jr. fighting for his right to be classified as a conscientious objector and therefore ineligible to enlist in the United States Army. This initial appeal was denied by the Louisville draft board and the District Court of Western Kentucky.
After this first rejection of his appeal in 1966, Muhammad Ali hired another notable attorney for religious freedoms, Hayden C. Covington, who urged Ali to make Houston, Texas, his legal residence. Ali was well-liked in Houston and felt his chance at an appeal was more likely there than in his hometown of Louisville. This effort would prove unsuccessful on February 20, 1967, when his appeal was denied again.
In March of 1967, Ali stated:
"If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. But I either have to obey the laws of the land or the laws of Allah. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail. We’ve been in jail for four hundred years.”
Supreme Court of the United States, October Term, 1966 Motion Booklet
