John Marshall Harlan II

Name: Chessman v. Teets (354 U.S. 156) — Opinion of the Court
Author: John Marshall Harlan II

Summary

“Chessman v. Teets (354 U.S. 156) — Opinion of the Court”, is a work by John Marshall Harlan II. It explores elements such as petitioner, transcript and the District Court.

Quotes from Chessman v. Teets (354 U.S. 156… (John Marshall Harlan II)

John Marshall Harlan II, Chessman v. Teets (354 U.S. 156…

“ This Court may not disregard the Constitution because an appeal in this case, as in others, has been made on the eve of execution. We must be deaf to all suggestions that a valid appeal to the Constitution, even by a guilty man, comes too late, because courts, including this Court, were not earlier able to enforce what the Constitution demands. The proponent before the Court is not the petitioner but the Constitution of the United States. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

John Marshall Harlan II, Chessman v. Teets (354 U.S. 156…

“ Even so, the fact remains that the petitioner has never had his day in court upon the controversial issues of fact and law involved in the settlement of the record upon which his conviction was affirmed.
By no means are we to be understood as saying that the state record has been shown to be inaccurate or incomplete. All we hold is that, consistently with procedural due process, California's affirmance of petitioner's conviction upon a seriously disputed record, whose accuracy petitioner has had no voice in determining, cannot be allowed to stand. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

John Marshall Harlan II, Chessman v. Teets (354 U.S. 156…

“ However, it is obvious that if the reporter's transcript is so important as to give the court such power in a civil case, a fortiori it must have such importance in a criminal case in which, on the evidence to be transcribed, the accused is sentenced to death. Likewise its importance is emphasized by the California law making the appeal automatic from death sentences. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

John Marshall Harlan II, Chessman v. Teets (354 U.S. 156…

“ At the trial petitioner insisted upon defending himself, and repeatedly refused the trial court's offer of counsel, although he did have at his disposal the services of a deputy public defender, who acted as his 'legal adviser' and was present at the counsel table throughout the trial. About a month after the conclusion of the trial, the official court reporter of the trial proceedings suddenly died, having at that time completed the dictation into a recording machine of what later turned out to be 646 out of 1,810 pages of the trial transcript. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

John Marshall Harlan II, Chessman v. Teets (354 U.S. 156…

“ Petitioner's discharge is not to be ordered without affording California an opportunity to review his conviction upon a record the sufficiency of which has been litigated in proceedings satisfying the requirements of procedural due process. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

John Marshall Harlan II, Chessman v. Teets (354 U.S. 156…

“ In capital cases California provides that 'an appeal is automatically taken by the defendant without any action by him or his counsel,' [2] and that in such cases 'the entire record of the action shall be prepared.' [3] The Supreme Court of the State of California affirmed petitioner's conviction by a divided court. People v. ”

[↩︎]

Source: Wikisource

John Marshall Harlan II, Chessman v. Teets (354 U.S. 156…

“ Without blinking the fact that the history of this case presents a sorry chapter in the annals of delays in the administration of criminal justice, [13] we cannot allow that circumstance to deter us from withholding relief so clearly called for. ”

John Marshall Harlan II

Summary

Quotes from Chessman v. Teets (354 U.S. 156… (John Marshall Harlan II)

Common terms

Similar works

Get perspective with Kwize: daily news enlightened by great literature