Correspondence from Amsterdam to Clerk; Application for Extension of Time for Filing Petitioners' Briefs

    STANFORD LAW SCHOOL °° C 
STANFORD, CALIFORNIA 94305     
July 22, 1971 

Honorable E. Robert Seaver 

Clerk 

Supreme Court of the United States 

Washington, D. C. 20543 

re: :Aikens v. California, 0.7. 1971, No. 568-5027 

Furman v. Georgia, O0.T. 1971, No. 69-5003 

Jackson v. Georgia, O.T. 1971, No. 69-5030 

  

Dear Mr. Seaver: 

When we discussed the briefing schedule in these cases 

by phone yesterday, you indicated that you could not allow 

the petitioners any extension of time for the filing of their 

briefs. Ordinarily, I would not think of carrying such a 

matter further; but it is not possible to meet the present 

briefing schedule without substantial prejudice to the 

interests of these death-sentenced men. 

Accordingly, I enclose a written application for a 

three-week extension of the time within which petitioners 

may file their three separate briefs. If you are unable to 

grant the requested extension, I am obliged to request that 

it be submitted to the Circuit Justice for the Ninth Circuit, 

or for the Fifth Circuit, pursuant to Rule 34 (5). 

Sincerely, 

Anthony G. Amsterdam 

Counsel for Petitioners 

AGA :mh 

Encl. 

 



  

  

Honorable E. Robert Seaver 2. July 22, 1971 

cc: Honorable Evelle J. Younger 

Attorney General 

600 State Building 

Los Angeles, California 90012 

Attention: Ronald George, Esq. 

Deputy Attorney General 
  

Honorable Arthur K. Bolton 

Attorney General 

132 State Judicial Building 

40 Capitol Square 
Atlanta, Georgia 30334 

Attention: Dorothy Beasley, Esq. 
Assistant Attorney General 

  

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1 IN THE 

; SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

3S 
October Term, 1971 

Nos. 68-5027, 69-5003, 695-5030 

  7 

8 EARNEST JAMES AIKENS, JR., 

9 Petitioner, 
  

10 oyu a No. 68-5027 

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STATE OF CALIFORNIA, 

  

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16 WILLIAM HENRY FURMAN, ) 

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17 Petitioner, ) 

18 - Ne - ) Ro. 69-5003 

QO Ti “A HN =  T3 TANYA T 19 I! STATE OF GEORGIA, ) 

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0 Respondent. ) 

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LUCIOUS JACKSON ; Ey A 4 

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or Petitioner, ) $ 

26 FV ) No. 69-5030 

<7 | STATE OF GEORGIA, ) 

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31 APPLICATION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME 

FOR FILING PETITIONERS' BRIEFS f 

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Petitioners respectfully apply for an extension of three 

weeks time, until September 2, 1971, to file their briefs in 

these cases. The extension is necessary for the following 

reasons: 

(1) Certiorari was granted in each of these three cases 

on June 28, 1971, on the question: 

"Does the imposition and carrying out 

of the death penalty in this case 

constitute cruel and unusual punish- 

ment in violation of the Eighth and 

Fourteenth Amendments?" 

This common constitutional question is presented upon quite 

different records in the three cases, two of which involve 

the imposition of the death penalty for differing sorts of 

: A a al 3 ge homicides, and the third © 

0 reagulired to be filed in the three case 
4 

] 

(2) Undersigned counsel is responsible for preparing and 

‘iling the briefs on behalf of each petitioner. Co-counsel in 

three briefs necessarily falls upon undersigned counsel. 

(3) Considerable portions of undersigned counsel's time 

since June 28, 1971 have been consumed by attention to other   | capital cases in which this Court reversed death sentences on 

Ls ra "( vy ga wn EE. ET. SET ~ pa i ~ i a June 28, whereln undersigned counsel tl 
~ ~~ _ -  ) 

represenced 

and to the implications of the Court's actions of June 28 for 

counsel is lead counsel in a habeas corpus proceeding pending     
the death penalty for rape. Three separate briefs are therefore 

the three cases have limited responsibilities, and the principal 

work of research and drafting involved in the preparation of all 

- i orn i 
Lie Detlcloners, 

additional capital cases pending in the lower courts. Undersigned 

in 

  

  
 



  

1 the United States District Court for the Middle District of 

2) i 2s ma Te hi ‘a : : 
co Florida on behalf of Florida's 80 condemned men, and is required 

9 ’ ging ' ‘ 
to appear at a hearing set by the presiding judge in that case on 

A. 

Il July 30, 1971, for the purpose of considering the effect upon that]   
proceeding of this Court's several June 28 actions. 

7 (4) In all of these capital cases, undersigned counsel is an 

8 uncompensated volunteer representing indigent condemned men. None 

f his clients is able to retain other counsel; and co-counsel in 

each case are also volunteers, each having only limited time 

available for the cases. 

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1% (5) Problems in composing the record in each of the Aikens, 

14 Furman and Jackson cases make it impossible for undersigned counsel 

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15 Loli Din lt a citar) GR a Sr A DO SL A Tye] 9c " 

i =O 08 da a Tale ul NTE WP | Oy or Lose Yecoras Yerore Jit —y LU yp 19 / 1 e 

(6) For all of the foregoing reasons, it will not be pos- 

sare and file briefs in these three cases N 
ES sible for counsel to pre 

prior to September 2, 1971. 

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<0 (7) Counsel for the State of Georgia have authorized me 

to say that the respondent in Nos. 69-5003 and 69-5030 has no 

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objection to the extension requested. Counsel for the State of 

23 
California is presently unavailable; I shall endeavor to make 

24 
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o his position concerning this application known to the Clerk at 
<0 

. 

the earliest possible time. 

      27 Ci —————h 

<8 | (1) In Aikens (No. 68-5027), the copy of the record certified | 

oc | to this Court by the Clerk of the California Supreme Court was 

4 petitioner's copy; and only half of the volumes compr ising the 

trial transcript were certified. This was discovered by in- 

vestigation during the first week of July. Accordingly, on July 9; 

we asked the Clerk of this Court to send us the complete record. 

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3 x (continued) 

4 That was received on July 12. It was immediately collated with 

3 the portions of the record which we had; and on July 13, we 

O arranged to have the clerk of the California Supreme Court 

a certify the missing volumes to this Court. The clerk's file 

in the case is in three volumes, and the trial transcript runs 

7 to twenty volumes. Co-counsel read it through for the purpose 

of agreeing with counsel for the State of California concerning 

8 the contents of the Appendix; agreement was reached on July 19 

and 20; and the agreed statement was mailed to this Court on 

9 July 21. A copy of the record was then mailed to undersigned 

counsel. 

11 (2) In Furman (No. 69-5003), the original record is still 

in the Georgia Supreme Court. Co-counsel in Georgia inspected 

it there, for the purpose of comparing it with the petitioner's 

copy of the transcripts and other documents in the record. After 

these comparisons had been made, a copy of the record was sent 

14 to co-counsel in New York, arriving in two batches on July 9 

and July 21, to be read for designation. That entire record is 

15 now. in the mail from New York to undersigned counsel. However, 

our examination of it to date discloses that there are two 

16 documents bearing upon the petitioner's psychiatric state 

which are not included in the record, and which we are now at- 

tempting to have certified by the Clerk of the Superior Court of 

Chatham County to the Georgia Supreme Court, thence to be certi- 

fied to this Court. 

20 (3) In Jackson (No. 69-5030), the Clerk of this Court wrote 

to the Clerk of the Georgia Supreme Court asking that a certified 

21 copy of the record be sent up after counsel had had a chance to 

inspect it in Georgia. The Clerk of the Georgia Supreme Court 

22 mailed it to this Court on July 14 without waiting for counsel 

to inspect it; and we first saw it on July 21, when a law clerk       SS" . 
' . . - EY . 

“0 dispatched by New York co-counsel inspected it in Washington. 

wy At this time we have petitioner's copy of the trial transcript, bug 
4 ’ - ar . 5 i 

no copies of any file papers; and we have discovered that a 

or psychiatric report which should be in the record is not ingluded 

in the certified record that this Court has. We are presently | 

26 tracing that report; and, in the meantime, copies of the other | 

file papers have to be duplicated and mailed to undersigned 

27 ll counsel. 

28 i | 

29 

30 

31 

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week extension of 

September 

  

respectfully request a three- 

thin which they must file their 

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Anthony G. Amsterdam 

Counsel for Petitioners 

  

   



  

1 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE   

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I certify that I i served the foregoing Application for 

) Extension of Time for Filing Petitioners' Briefs upon counsel 

for respondents, at the addresses indicated below, by this day 

  

4 depositing in the mail, first-class air-mail postage prepaid, 

: two copies to each of ahem 

6 

Honorable Evelle J. Younger 

7 Attorney General 

600 State Building 

8 Los Angeles, California 90012 
, Attention: Ronald George, Esq. 

Deputy Attorney General 

Honorable Arthur K. Bolton 

Attorney General 

132 State Judicial Building 

40 Capitol Square 

13 Atlanta, Georgia 30334 

Attention: Dorothy Beasley, Esq. 
  

14 Assistant Attorney General 

15 

  

; Anthony G. i Tordanm 

18 Counsel for Petitioners 

  
29 

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