Ex parte Seibold.
| Citation | 382 So.2d 1146 |
| Parties | Ex parte Edward Albert SEIBOLD. In re Edward Albert Seibold v. State of Alabama. 79-366. |
| Decision Date | 09 May 1980 |
| Court | Supreme Court of Alabama |
Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the Court of Criminal Appeals, 382 So.2d 1141.
Richard D. Lane, Auburn, for appellant.
Charles A. Graddick, Atty. Gen., C. Lawson Little, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
WRIT DENIED.
The trial court, by sentencing Seibold to life imprisonment without the intervention of a jury, did no more than this Court did in 1973, when it commuted all death sentences to life imprisonment. See Hubbard v. State, 290 Ala. 118, 274 So.2d 298 (1973). Whether this Court misconstrued the effect of Furman on our substantive death penalty laws is purely academic now; what this Court did cannot now be undone. At that time, this Court thought Furman mandated that all death sentences had to be commuted, and since Seibold is similarly situated with those prisoners whose sentences were commuted by this Court, he is entitled to the same treatment. Dobbert v. Florida, 432 U.S. 282, 97 S.Ct. 2290, 53 L.Ed.2d 344 (1977). Dobbert has thrown much additional light on the extent of the Furman mandate. After reading Dobbert, I am personally convinced that Furman did not abolish capital punishment in Alabama, only the procedure Alabama followed under the old law in allowing the sentencing authority to exercise an unguided discretion. Because I am of this opinion, I cannot agree with the holding by the Court of Criminal Appeals that:
That holding by the Court of Criminal Appeals is obviously an incorrect statement. Dobbert involved a capital crime which Dobbert committed pre-Furman, but he was tried under a procedure which followed Furman guidelines. But for the fact that Seibold was in a class with...
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Lokos v. State, 2 Div. 310
... ... The prejudice or bias against the appellant required to disqualify the judge must be of a personal nature, as opposed to a judicial bias. Seibold v. State, 382 So.2d 1141 (Ala.Cr.App.1979), cert. denied, 382 So.2d 1146 (Ala.1980); Pannell v. State, 356 So.2d 219 (Ala.Cr.App.1977), cert ... ...
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Moreland v. State
... ... Personal as opposed to judicial bias is characterized by an attitude of extrajudicial origin derived non coram judice. Seibold v. State, 382 So.2d 1141 (Ala.Crim.App.1979), cert. denied, 382 So.2d 1146 (Ala.1980); Pannell v. State, 356 So.2d 219 (Ala.Crim.App.1977), cert ... ...
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Norris v. State, 6 Div. 213
... ... The Court, sitting without jury, was without authority to accept guilty plea to offense of Robbery. Ex parte Jenkins, 38 Ala.App. 117, 76 So.2d ... ; Smith v. State, 11 Ala.App. 153, 155, 65 So. 693 (1914)." 2 ... We find no appropriate ... In Seibold v. State, 382 So.2d 1141 (Ala.Cr.App.1979), cert. denied, 382 So.2d 1146 (Ala.1980), the court reviewed the lower court's denial of the petitioner's ... ...
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Williams v. State
... ... Personal as opposed to judicial bias is characterized by an attitude of extrajudicial origin derived non coram judice. Seibold v. State, 382 So.2d 1141 (Ala.Crim.App.1979), cert. denied, 382 So.2d 1146 (Ala.1980); Pannell v. State, 356 So.2d 219 (Ala.Crim.App.1977), cert ... ...