Smith v. State of Mississippi, 667

Decision Date13 May 1963
Docket NumberNo. 667,667
PartiesWilliam SMITH, Jr., Petitioner, v. STATE OF MISSISSIPPI
CourtU.S. Supreme Court

Morris B. Abram. Atlanta, Ga., for petitioner.

G. Garland Lyell, Jr., Jackson, Miss., for respondent.

PER CURIAM.

The petitioner was convicted of rape by a jury in the Circuit Court of Madison County, Mississippi, and sentenced to death. The conviction was affirmed by the Supreme Court of Mississippi. Miss., 139 So.2d 857. We granted petitioner's motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis, and his petition for certiorari which presented several claims of alleged denial of rights secured to him by the Fourteenth Amendment. 371 U.S. 939, 83 S.Ct. 323, 9 L.Ed.2d 274. After oral argument and study of the record, we have reached the conclusion that the record is not sufficient to permit decision of his constitutional claims. The writ is therefore dismissed as improvidently granted, with- out prejudice to an application for federal habeas corpus relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 after exhaustion of any state remedies still open to him. See 28 U.S.C. § 2254; Fay v. Noia, 372 U.S. 391, 435, 83 S.Ct. 822, 847, 9 L.Ed.2d 837.

Upon the effective date of our action today, the stay of execution granted October 5, 1962, by MR. JUSTICE BLACK expires of its own terms. We see no reason, however, to continue the stay in effect. Although the Mississippi Supreme Court, see Miss., 145 So.2d 688, reserved to the State the right, upon this Court's disposition of the writ of certiorari, to apply for an order fixing a new execution date, we assume that that court will not act on application of the State without affording petitioner an opportunity to pursue with due diligence any available state remedies and, if necessary, the remedy in federal habeas corpus.

Writ dismissed.

To continue reading

Request your trial
9 cases
  • Darden v. Wainwright, 79-566 Civ-T-H.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida
    • May 8, 1981
    ...§ 2254 unless the order discharging the writ expressly preserved the question. See, for example, Smith v. Mississippi, 373 U.S. 238, 239, 83 S.Ct. 1265, 1266, 10 L.Ed.2d 321 (1963), in which the order discharging a writ previously granted specifically provided that such disposition was "wit......
  • Smith v. State, 42222
    • United States
    • Mississippi Supreme Court
    • July 12, 1963
    ...for writ of certiorari, the United States Supreme Court dismissed that writ as improvidently granted. Smith v. State of Mississippi, 373 U.S. 238, 83 S.Ct. 1265, 10 L.Ed.2d 321. On June 3 this Court set Friday, July 12, 1963 for the date of execution of the death sentence. Smith v. State, 1......
  • Hutter v. Korzen, 71-1419
    • United States
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • October 16, 1972
    ...our cases we have entertained petitions, though docketed after expiration of the time prescribed in our Rules: Smith v. Mississippi, 373 U.S. 238, 83 S.Ct. 1265, 10 L.Ed.2d 321; Arnold v. North Carolina, 376 U.S. 773, 84 S.Ct. 1032, 12 L.Ed.2d 77; Mazzie v. United States, 375 U.S. 32, 84 S.......
  • Smith v. Breazeale, GC6440.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Northern District of Mississippi
    • September 16, 1965
    ...obtained a writ of certiorari, but that writ was later discharged as having been improvidently granted. Smith v. State of Mississippi, 373 U.S. 238, 83 S.Ct. 1265, 10 L.Ed.2d 321 (1963). A writ of habeas corpus, issued by the circuit court of the county in which petitioner was detained, was......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT