The Third Amendment

"No Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law."

This is the least cited amendment. It is clear and concise. A situation in which one would use this as the basis of a legal suit is very unlikely to occur. In fact, the most recent case of which I am aware is from 1982.

A group of prison guards went on strike in New York. Some of these guards rented housing from the prison, in a building about a half mile from the prison. When the guards struck, the National Guard was activated by the Governor to take over for the guards. The quarters rented by the guards were used to house the soldiers. A pair of the prison guards sued the Governor and several other officials on the basis that the 3rd Amendment had been violated. In state court, the claim was summarily dismissed. After appeal, the ruling was upheld. The guards did not own the apartments. The guards were not required to use the apartments.

With the number of available facilities throughout the United States and the military's ability to quickly erect "tent cities" just about anywhere, the need to utilize civilian homes for service member housing is slim to none.