Mercer v. Dillon

I dissent.

The issue before the Supreme Court of the United States in O’Callahan v Parker, 395 US 258, 23 L Ed 2d 291, 89 S Ct 1683 (1969), was whether courts-martial had jurisdiction to try persons belonging to the armed services for criminal acts because of their status alone. Having reversed O’Callahap’s conviction on thg ground *269that status aloné did not invest jurisdiction in a court-martial, did the Supreme Court intend that its ruling would only be applied after the date of its opinion, June 2, 1969, or some other date? O’Callahan was convicted by a court-martial in 1956. His conviction…