When I was draft eligible during the Vietnam war, I got it into my tiny little head that the draft was unconstitutional because it constituted "involuntary servitude," banned by the 13th Amendment. I asked all my lawyer and law school acquaintances about it, not realizing how specialized the practice of law is--and how few specialize in constitutional law. I got interesting answers: Constitution gives Congress power to raise and maintain armies; President is Commander in Chief; 13th Amendment applied to "Negro slavery," not Selective Service, etc. Finally figured out, many years later, that I should have been looking at the "due process" clause of the Fifth Amendment. Selective Service had "due process" because you could appeal your classification--to your local board, to a larger board or to the President.

But, an underlying issue was: a man was a civilian until the moment he took the step forward at induction, yet Selective Service was run by the Defense Department and imposed military legal procedures on civilians. Most lawyers at the time didn't want to touch that one with a ten-foot pole. Muhammed Ali's law team won a major victory for civilian law when the Supreme Court overturned his draft-dodging conviction.