Lankford v. Schmidt Transcript of Proceedings Vol. 5

Public Court Documents
January 21, 1965

Lankford v. Schmidt Transcript of Proceedings Vol. 5 preview

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  • Brief Collection, LDF Court Filings. Lankford v. Schmidt Transcript of Proceedings Vol. 5, 1965. dba29a5a-ba9a-ee11-be36-6045bdeb8873. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/75c77815-f896-4b5e-9d87-6aed8d45f137/lankford-v-schmidt-transcript-of-proceedings-vol-5. Accessed July 16, 2025.

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    Ill THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

SAMUEL JAMES LANKFORD, et al.

vs . Civil No. 16080

BERNARD J, SCHMIDT» ^ commissioner 
of Police of Baltimore City.

January 2 1 , 1965

TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS 
Volume 5

(Page 579 to page 581 )

Francis T. Owens 
Official Reporter 
514 Post Office Bldg. 
Baltimore 2, Maryland



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579

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

SAMUEL JAMES LANKFORD, et al. :
:

Civil No. 16080

BERNARD J. SCHMIDT, as COMMISSIONER 
of POLICE of BALTIMORE CITY

Baltimore, Maryland 
Thursday, January 21, 1965

The above-entitled matter was resumed for 

hearing before His Honor, Roszel C. Thomsen, Chief Judge.

A P P E A R A N C E S

(As heretofore noted.)



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PROCEEDINGS

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THE COURT: Because of the novelty of the

Issues involved in this case and the importance of the case 

to everyone in the community this Court has asked the 

immediate past president of the Maryland State Bar Association, 

Mr. H. Vernon Eney; the president-elect of the Maryland State 

Bar Association, Mr. William L. Marbury; and the president of 

the Bar Association of Baltimore City, Mr. Robert E. Coughlan, 

Jr., if they would act as amici curiae in this case.

They have told the Court that they would be 

willing to act if the Court asked them to, and they have 

stated that if they were requested by the Court to act they 

would like to have a conference with counsel for both sides 

in the case today.
I spoke to counsel for both sides yesterday 

evening, and they agreed that they would be willing to have a 

conference with the three lawyers appointed as amici curiae 

this morning; and therefore, there will be no testimony taken 

in this court in the case today so that the conference can 

proceed.
The Court wishes to express its appreciation 

to these three men for being willing to drop their personal 

affairs on such short notice and to serve as amici curiae in 

this case. I also appreciate the co-operation of counsel for 

both sides in this case.



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581
1 think these conferences should be held out of 

the presence of the Court, except thet the Court is willing 

at any time to be available to participate in any of the 

conferences which it is felt desirable that the Court should 

participate in.
The function of amici curiae, of course, is to 

advise the Court on the law but the Court is not required to 

accept the advice of counsel; and I feel therefore that it is 

desirable that the Court be detached from the discussions 

which go on so that the Court can maintain the proper judicial 

attitude in the case
On the other hand the importance of this matter 

in the community is such that the Court wishes to make the 

procedures just as flexible as possible in order to obtain wta 

would be the best result for the community as a whole.

Is there anything else that anyone here feels 

should be said at this time?
If not, 1 should like to speak to counsel for 

just a moment. Suppose you just come up to the bench.

(Bench conference.)

(The trial of the above-entitled matter was 

adjourned to Tuesday, January 26, 1965.)

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