Executive Order 9738 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 9738—Restricting Competition in Examination for the Position of Correctional Officer Under the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice

•

Wednesday, June 19, 1946

•

2 min read (326 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Harry S Truman on 1946-06-19, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Restricting Competition in Examination for the Position of Correctional Officer Under the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ Incumbents of positions to which this order is applicable who do not have a classified status and who fail to qualify for classification under this order shall be replaced by selection from the competitive register in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Civil Service Commission.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Total Words

326

2,041 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

21.2

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 9738, Harry S Truman (Jun 19, 1946). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9738-restricting-competition-examination-for-the-position-correctional.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the statutes, including section 2 of the Civil Service Act (22 Stat. 403), the Veterans' Preference Act of 1944, approved June 27, 1944 (58 Stat. 387), and section 1753 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (5 U.S.C. 631), it is hereby ordered as follows: In civil-service examinations for the position of Correctional Officer under the Bureau of Prisons, Department o Justice, competition shall be restricted during the present war and for five years following the termination thereof to persons entitled to preference under the said Veterans' Preference Act of 1944, as long as persons entitled to preference are available: Provided, however, That for purpose of classification application for examination may be accepted by the Civil Service Commission from any person serving in such position in the classified service under an appointment not limited to one year or less, and the Commission is authorized to confer a classified (competitive) civil-service status or a probational status upon any such employee who qualifies in the examination for classification; And provided further, That in no event shall any person not entitled to preference under the Veterans' Preference Act of 1944 be granted a classified status under this order (1) unless he is recommended for this purpose by the Director of the Bureau of Prisons for outstandingly courageous or meritorious service and (2) until all preference eligibles who have the same or a higher rating in the examination have been appointed or have been given consideration in accordance with the Veterans' Preference Act of 1944. Incumbents of positions to which this order is applicable who do not have a classified status and who fail to qualify for classification under this order shall be replaced by selection from the competitive register in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Civil Service Commission. This order supersedes Executive Order No. 9662 of November 29, 1945. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, June 19, 1946