Rostker v. Goldberg: A Landmark Supreme Court Ruling on Male-Only Draft Registration

In the annals of American constitutional law, a number of rulings stand out not only for their immediate impact, but also for the ongoing debates they inspire. One such case is Rostker v. Goldberg, decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1981. The ruling, which upheld the constitutionality of a male-only draft registration, continues to be a topic of discussion in legal and political circles.

The case arose in the aftermath of President Jimmy Carter's 1980 decision to reinstate draft registration in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Congress passed the Military Selective Service Act, requiring all males between the ages of 18 and 25 to register with the Selective Service System. Several citizens, including Daniel Rostker and Robert L. Goldberg, challenged the constitutionality of this male-only requirement, arguing that it represented gender-based discrimination in violation of the Fifth Amendment's due process clause.

The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, ruled against Rostker and Goldberg. Writing for the majority, Justice William Rehnquist argued that the purpose of draft registration was to prepare for a draft of combat troops. Since women were, at the time, excluded from combat roles by statute and by military policy, excluding them from draft registration did not amount to unconstitutional discrimination. The court held that Congress was acting within its constitutional authority to raise and support armies, and that its decision to exclude women from the draft was "not the accidental by-product of a traditional way of thinking about females."

This decision signaled a departure from the Court's approach in previous cases dealing with gender discrimination. Unlike earlier rulings, which required laws to be substantially related to an important government interest in order to withstand constitutional scrutiny, the Court in Rostker v. Goldberg applied a less rigorous standard. It accepted Congress's rationale for excluding women from the draft at face value, without scrutinizing whether this exclusion was in fact necessary to achieve its stated goal.

The ruling in Rostker v. Goldberg remains relevant today, as debates continue over the role of women in the military. In 2016, the Department of Defense lifted the ban on women in combat roles, and in 2019, a federal judge in Texas ruled that an all-male draft was unconstitutional in light of this change. However, the Supreme Court has yet to revisit the issue.

Rostker v. Goldberg serves as a reminder of the profound impact that Supreme Court decisions can have on societal norms and policies. As the role of women in the military continues to evolve, this landmark case will undoubtedly remain a significant reference point in discussions about gender equality and military service.