Wayte v. United States

Wayte (defendant), a vocal draft opponent, wrote to the Selective Service announcing he would not register, was warned, and was ultimately indicted after refusing; he moved to dismiss on grounds of selective prosecution for exercising his free-speech rights and sought discovery, which the government did not provide, leading the district court to dismiss the charges. The court of appeals reversed, finding no proven selective prosecution and an erroneous discovery order, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Whether a prosecution under a passive enforcement policy targeting only reported nonregistrants must be dismissed as unconstitutional selective prosecution.