Lankford v. Schmidt Transcript of Proceedings Vol. 5
Public Court Documents
January 21, 1965

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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 30, 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 1 • ) 8 4 <> 7 S !) 10 11 12 10 14 1") l ( j 17 18 19 20 21 22 22 24 27) 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.) 580 2 i i PROCEEDINGS •) 2 4 5 <> i S !) 10 11 12 12 14 15 1<> 17 18 1!) 20 21 22 24 25 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. 1 ■) :t 4 (i 7 ,s !) 10 1 1 12 1.1 14 lf> 1(1 17 18 1!) 20 21 22 22 24 25 581 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.)