Supreme Court of Georgia Judgment
Correspondence
July 22, 1971

8 pages
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Case Files, Furman v. Georgia Hardbacks. Correspondence from Amsterdam to Clerk; Application for Extension of Time for Filing Petitioners' Briefs, 1971. 6789a70c-b325-f011-8c4e-002248226c06. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/948303d7-e101-4205-8788-7915ecf0cc6e/correspondence-from-amsterdam-to-clerk-application-for-extension-of-time-for-filing-petitioners-briefs. Accessed July 01, 2025.
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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 #] $ QQ 1 C4 4} Q ¥ Ga James M, Eat widen. : Jack Himmelstein, -~ Xe sreenberg, Esq. ho od M. Nabrit III, Es 4 BE erome B. Falk, Jr., Esq. ¥ Sq. 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 31 rE ER FYA Wy § STATE OF CALIFORNIA, N e ? d N ” Na t’ S a a ” N o S m t ” S a a S N ” 2 Regpondent. y 13 14 T 15 ) 16 WILLIAM HENRY FURMAN, ) ) 17 Petitioner, ) 18 - Ne - ) Ro. 69-5003 QO Ti “A HN = T3 TANYA T 19 I! STATE OF GEORGIA, ) 2 2 0 Respondent. ) 21 22 23 ) LUCIOUS JACKSON ; Ey A 4 4 ly oe ) or Petitioner, ) $ 26 FV ) No. 69-5030 <7 | STATE OF GEORGIA, ) | ) | I's il > § | R STC OCT LL. ) 29 ; er) 30 i 31 APPLICATION FOR EXTENSION OF TIME FOR FILING PETITIONERS' BRIEFS f a |] | | | | | Lp) a (O F 6 7 5 te J "rey WF 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. ] 1% (5) Problems in composing the record in each of the Aikens, 14 Furman and Jackson cases make it impossible for undersigned counsel = 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. >) i . « ; : : <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 00 Co 6 objection to the extension requested. Counsel for the State of 23 California is presently unavailable; I shall endeavor to make 24 { hn : NT : : a 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. P R L i Pr ed 32 (continued) o 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 62 N J [9 ey week extension of September respectfully request a three- thin which they must file their SUCRE ty V4 \ aa SC / nig \; / £ om { § go erg k L Urges” * V { Fi’ Ran {i \. > it F | a Anthony G. Amsterdam Counsel for Petitioners 1 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE bo Ne a 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 ry J 6