|
|
Walker v. Wainwright, 390 U.S. 335 (1968)
Contents:
Show Summary
Hide Summary
General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Walker v. Wainwright, 390 U.S. 335 (1968)
Walker v. Wainwright No. 786, Misc. Decided March 11, 1968 390 U.S. 335
ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT
OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
Syllabus
Petitioner, under life sentence for murder, was later sentenced to five years for assault, to commence when he had completed the murder sentence. Petitioner challenged the murder conviction on constitutional grounds, but the District Court denied a writ of habeas corpus on the sole ground that, in view of the sentence for assault, a favorable decision would not result in the petitioner’s immediate release from prison, and that the court was therefore powerless to consider his claims. The Court of Appeals rejected his application for a certificate of probable cause.
Held: Whatever its other functions, the writ of habeas corpus is available to test the legality of a prisoner’s current detention, and it is immaterial that another prison term might await him if he should establish the unconstitutionality of his present imprisonment.
Certiorari granted; reversed and remanded.
Contents:
Chicago:
U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Walker v. Wainwright, 390 U.S. 335 (1968) in 390 U.S. 335 Original Sources, accessed July 1, 2025, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=TRADCYQTX7TM5VG.
MLA:
U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Walker v. Wainwright, 390 U.S. 335 (1968), in 390 U.S. 335, Original Sources. 1 Jul. 2025. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=TRADCYQTX7TM5VG.
Harvard:
U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Walker v. Wainwright, 390 U.S. 335 (1968). cited in 1968, 390 U.S. 335. Original Sources, retrieved 1 July 2025, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=TRADCYQTX7TM5VG.
|