Also known as: miles · soldiers · knights
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
2 senses
Members of the military.
Knights holding land by feudal tenure in exchange for military service.
Each sense below has its own examples, sources, and questions.
Members of the military.
Congress enacts a statute requiring states to organize local units of milites for national defense training. State officials challenge the law as exceeding federal authority over military forces. The court upholds the statute because the constitutional grant of power to organize and discipline the militia supports the federal requirement.
Knights holding land by feudal tenure in exchange for military service.
A married couple challenges a state law compelling their son to serve as a miles in the national guard. They argue the requirement invades marital privacy by separating family members. The court rejects the claim because the obligation arises from historical feudal duties rather than a protected zone of family autonomy.
A landowner in State X claims title through descent from an ancestor who held land as a miles under feudal service. The federal court must decide whether to apply State X or State Y rules on inheritance of military tenures. The court applies the forum state's conflicts rules to determine which law governs the ancient tenure.
The Constitution uses the related term militia when granting Congress power to organize and discipline forces for national defense. The historical concept of milites supplies background for understanding that grant of authority.
A city takes property once held by a miles in exchange for military service and offers minimal payment. The former holder sues claiming the taking violates due process because the land carried special feudal obligations. The court requires just compensation measured by the property's value at the time of condemnation.
Parents enroll their child in a private academy that trains students as future milites under a historical curriculum. The state seeks to close the academy under compulsory education laws. The court protects the parents' choice because it involves fundamental decisions about the child's upbringing and training.
A descendant sues claiming ongoing rights to land originally granted to a miles for feudal military service. The state argues the claim presents a political question beyond judicial review. The court reaches the merits because the dispute involves concrete property rights rather than abstract political issues.
Milites held land directly from the crown in exchange for providing armed service when called. This obligation formed a core condition of their feudal grants and distinguished their holdings from other free tenures.
…in the penumbra of the First Amendment is one, as we have seen. The Third Amendment in its prohibition against the quartering of soldiers “in any house” in time of peace without the consent of the owner is another facet of that privacy. The Fourth Amendment explicitly affirms the “right of the people to be secure in their…