Aikens v. California
Encyclopedia
Aikens v. California, 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
The Supreme Court would decide later that year, in Furman v. Georgia
, 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
.
California v. Anderson
The People of the State of California v. Robert Page Anderson, 493 P.2d 880, 6 Cal. 3d 628 , was a landmark case in the state of California that outlawed the use of capital punishment...
, 6 Cal. 3d 628
Case citation
Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1972), declared the death penalty unconstitutional under the state constitution. This made his appeal unnecessary because the decision in Anderson
The Supreme Court would decide later that year, in Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the United States, which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was...
, 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
Mootness
In American law, a matter is moot if further legal proceedings with regard to it can have no effect, or events have placed it beyond the reach of the law...
.