United States of America Ex Rel. John W. Flemings v. John H. Chafee, Secretary of the Navy

IRVING R. KAUFMAN, Circuit Judge:

Toward the end of its 1968 Term, the Supreme Court virtually sounded the death knell for court-martial jurisdiction which had been exercised over certain cases for more than fifty years. O’Callahan v. Parker, 395 U.S. 258, 89 S.Ct. 1683, 23 L.Ed.2d 291 (1969), decided that the Armed Services had no power to try servicemen for alleged crimes or offenses triable in civilian courts and which were without substantial military significance or “service connection.” We are now asked to decide whether O’Callahan, which itself overturned a final conviction, applies…