Aikens v. California

Infobox SCOTUS case
Litigants=Aikens v. California
ArgueDate=January 17
ArgueYear=1972
DecideDate=June 7
DecideYear=1972
FullName=Earnest James Aikens, Jr. v. People of the State of California
USVol=406
USPage=813
Citation=406 U.S. 813
Prior=Crim. No. 10118 Feb. 18, 1969: 70 Cal. 2d 369, 450 P.2d 258; Certiorari dismissed (406 U.S. 813)
Subsequent=Death sentence converted to Life in Prison
Holding=Since petitioner no longer faces execution, his appeal is moot.
SCOTUS=1972-1975
Majority="per curiam"

"Aikens v. California", 406 U.S. 813 (1972) was a decision of the United States Supreme Court where a petitioner was appealing his conviction and death sentence, after oral argument had been made on the case, but before the court decided on it, the California Supreme Court in "California v. Anderson", 6 Cal. 3d 628 ,(1972), declared the death penalty unconstitutional under the state constitution. This made his appeal unnecessary because the decision in "Anderson" Cquote|declared capital punishment in California unconstitutional under Art. 1, 6, of the state constitution... The California Supreme Court declared in the Anderson case that its decision was fully retroactive and stated that any prisoner currently under sentence of death could petition a superior court to modify its judgment. Aikens] thus no longer faces a realistic threat of execution...

The Supreme Court would, later that year, in "Furman v. Georgia" ussc|408|238|1972 decide that the Death Penalty was under certain circumstances unconstitutional. Aikens was originally one of four cases that were selected along with Furman, but when the "Anderson" case was decided by the California Supreme Court, "Aikens" became moot.

ee also

* List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 406

External links

* [http://supreme.justia.com/us/406/813/index.html Text of the decision from Justia.com]