Lankford v. Schmidt Transcript of Proceedings Vol. 5
Public Court Documents
January 21, 1965
Cite this item
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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
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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.)
580
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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.)