Eskridge v. Washington State Board Prison Terms Paroles

Decision Date16 June 1958
Docket NumberNo. 96,96
PartiesTom ESKRIDGE, Petitioner, v. WASHINGTON STATE BOARD of PRISON TERMS and PAROLES
CourtU.S. Supreme Court

Mr. Robert W. Graham, Seattle, Wash., for the petitioner.

Mr. John J. O'Connell, Olympia, Wash., for the respondent.

PER CURIAM.

The Constitution of the State of Washington provides: 'In criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have * * * the right to appeal in all cases * * *.' Wash.Const., Amend. 10. In 1935, after petitioner was convicted of murder in a Washington state court and sentenced to life imprisonment, he gave timely notice of appeal to the Supreme Court of the State. Washington law authorizes a trial judge to have a stenographic transcript of trial proceedings furnished an indigent defendnat at public expense 'if in his opinion justice will thereby be promoted.' Remington's Wash.Rev.Stat., 1932, § 42—5. Alleging substantial errors in his trial petitioner moved for a free transcript. The trial judge denied this motion, finding that 'justice would not be promoted * * * in that defendant has been accorded a fair and impartial trial, and in the Court's opinion no grave defendant at public expense 'if in Petitioner then moved in the State Supreme Court for writ of mandate ordering the trial judge to have a transcript furnished for the prosecution of his appeal. The Supreme Court denied this petition and simultaneously granted the State's motion to dismiss petitioner's appeal for failure to file a certified 'statement of facts' and 'transcript of record.' In 1956 petitioner applied for habeas corpus in the Washington Supreme Court charging that failure to furnish a free transcript of the proceedings had violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. His petition was denied without opinion and we granted certiorari. 353 U.S. 922, 77 S.Ct. 683, 1 L.Ed.2d 719.

In this Court the State does not deny petitioner's allegations of poverty, the substantiality of the trial errors he alleges, or the necessity for him to have some record of the proceedings in order to prosecute his appeal properly. It does argue that petitioner might have utilized notes compiled by someone other than the official court reporter. Assuming that under some circumstances such notes could be an adequate substitute for a court reporter's transcript there is nothing in this record to show that any were available to petitioner, and the Washington courts appear to have proceeded on the assumption that he...

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  • People v. Hill
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (California)
    • July 25, 1967
    ...assigned.' (Draper v. State of Washington, 372 U.S. 487, 497, 83 S.Ct. 774, 780, 9 L.Ed.2d 899; see also Eskridge v. Washington Prison Bd., 357 U.S. 214, 78 S.Ct. 1061, 2 L.Ed.2d 1269.) The appellant was present at his trial and should have some idea of what particular aspect of argument to......
  • Lopez, In re
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (California)
    • January 29, 1965
    ...v. State of Colorado (1964) 378 U.S. 585, 84 S.Ct. 1935, 12 L.Ed.2d 1042 (per curiam).9 Eskridge v. Washington State Board of Prison Terms & Paroles (1958) 357 U.S. 214, 78 S.Ct. 1061, 2 L.Ed.2d 1269; but see Norvell v. State of Illinois (1963) 373 U.S. 420, 83 S.Ct. 1366, 10 L.Ed.2d 456.10......
  • People v. Brown
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (California)
    • December 22, 1960
    ...his appeal has merit. Johnson v. United States, 352 U.S. 565, 566, 77 S.Ct. 550, 1 L.Ed.2d 593; see also Eskridge v. Washington Prison Board, 357 U.S. 214, 78 S.Ct. 1061, 2 L.Ed.2d 1269; Farley v. United States, 354 U.S. 521, 522-523, 77 S.Ct. 1371, 1 L.Ed.2d 1529; see also People v. Kalan,......
  • Hurst v. People of State of California
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 9th Circuit. United States District Courts. 9th Circuit. Northern District of California
    • December 6, 1962
    ...argued against such a construction.), and was reaffirmed by six members of the Court in Eskridge v. Washington State Board of Prison Terms and Paroles, 357 U.S. 214, 78 S.Ct. 1061, 2 L.Ed.2d 1269. The Mapp decision itself cited Griffin with approval, in connection with the argument that a w......
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4 books & journal articles
  • Table of Cases
    • United States
    • James Publishing Practical Law Books Archive Texas Criminal Lawyer's Handbook. Volume 2 - 2014 Contents
    • August 17, 2014
    ...Esco v. State, 668 S.W.2d 358 (Tex. Crim. App. 1982), §§1:34.1, 1:51, 1:52 Eskridge v. Washington State Board of Prison Terms and Paroles, 357 U.S. 214, 78 S.Ct. 1061, 2 L.Ed. 2d 1269 (1958), §15:202 Esparza v. State 282 S.W.3d 913 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009), §21:80 Espinosa v. State, 29 S.W.3d......
  • Table of Cases
    • United States
    • James Publishing Practical Law Books Archive Texas Criminal Lawyer's Handbook. Volume 2 - 2015 Contents
    • August 17, 2015
    ...Esco v. State, 668 S.W.2d 358 (Tex. Crim. App. 1982), §§1:34.1, 1:51, 1:52 Eskridge v. Washington State Board of Prison Terms and Paroles, 357 U.S. 214, 78 S.Ct. 1061, 2 L.Ed. 2d 1269 (1958), §15:202 Esparza v. State 282 S.W.3d 913 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009), §21:80 Espinosa v. State, 29 S.W.3d......
  • Supreme Court Behavior and Civil Rights
    • United States
    • Political Research Quarterly No. 13-2, June 1960
    • June 1, 1960
    ...civil liberties claims. Analysis verifies v. Louisiana, 356 U.S. 584 (1958); Benanti v. U.S., 355 U.S. 96 (1957); Eskridge v. Wash-ington, 357 U.S. 214 (1958); Lambert v. California, 355 U.S. 225 (1957); Staub v. City ofBaxley, 355 U.S. 313 (1958); Ciucci v. Illinois, 356 U.S. 571 (1958); H......
  • The Supreme Court and the Poor
    • United States
    • Prison Journal, The No. 45-1, April 1965
    • April 1, 1965
    ...the imposition of conditions that offend the deepest presuppositions of our society." 351 U. S. at21-22. See text at note 33 infra.6 357 U. S. 214 (1958).7 357 U. S. at 215. 8 357 U. S. at 216. Eskridge’s motion for a transcript was presented in ahabeas corpus petition twenty-one years afte......

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