At the trial on June 20, 1967,
after only 21 minutes of deliberation, the jury found Ali guilty. After a
Court of Appeals upheld the conviction, the case went to the U.S. Supreme Court.
During this time, the public began turning against the war and support for Ali
began to grow. Ali supported himself by speaking at colleges and universities
across the country, where opposition to the war was especially strong. On June
28, 1971, the Supreme Court reversed his conviction for refusing induction by
unanimous decision in Clay v. United States.
The decision was not based on, nor did it address, the merits of Clay's/Ali's
claims per se; rather, the Government's failure to specify which
claims were rejected and which were sustained, constituted the grounds upon
which the Court reversed the conviction
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