Protest: Burner Burned

Burning a draft card, argued the de fense, is “an integral part of free speech” and therefore protected under the First Amendment. Not so, ruled Federal Judge Harold Tyler Jr. Thus Pacifist David Miller, 23, the first U.S. citizen to be arrested and indicted under a 1965 federal law prohibiting the destruction of a draft card, last week in Manhattan became the first to be found guilty of breaking that law. Judge Tyler deferred sentencing until next month, and Miller, who works at New York’s Catholic Worker Hospitality House, a religious-pacifist organization, remained free on $500 bond. Though his draft classification is 1-A, Miller may not see the inside of a barracks for some time.

Maximum penalty for his offense is five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.