This section contains the nature of the case and procedural background.

Melton (P) was convicted in a U.S. district court for violation of federal liquor laws. P was sentenced to forty days in jail and fined $500. P's fine was suspended, and P was placed on probation for five years. Under federal law, P's crime was clearly a felony because the maximum penalty for the crime was two years' imprisonment and federal law defined a felony as any offense punishable by death or imprisonment for more than one year. Under the state law, the sentence imposed determined the classification of the crime; conviction was not a felony under state law. Oleson (D), the county attorney, filed a copy of the conviction with the county clerk with an opinion that P had been convicted of a felony and the county clerk removed P's name from the voting roles. D then informed the college board of trustees that P was no longer a voter, a qualification to be a college trustee. P restored his voting rights by court action. D appealed that restoration.

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