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<case id="50671" source="Oyez API" schema="simple-legal-case-xml-v1"><name>Furman v. Georgia</name><docketNumber>69-5003</docketNumber><term>1971</term><court><name>Burger Court (1972-1975)</name><identifier>burger4</identifier><href>https://api.oyez.org/courts/burger4</href></court><parties><firstParty role="Petitioner">Furman</firstParty><secondParty role="Respondent">Georgia</secondParty></parties><dates><date type="argued">1972-01-17</date><date type="decided">1972-06-29</date></dates><citation><volume>408</volume><page>238</page><year>1972</year><href>https://api.oyez.org/case_citation/case_citation/14599</href><justia_url>https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/408/238/</justia_url></citation><jurisdiction>Writ of <i>certiorari</i></jurisdiction><facts><html><p>Furman was burglarizing a private home when a family member discovered him. He attempted to flee, and in doing so tripped and fell. The gun that he was carrying went off and killed a resident of the home. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death (Two other death penalty cases were decided along with Furman: Jackson v. Georgia and Branch v. Texas. These cases concern the constitutionality of the death sentence for rape and murder convictions, respectively).</p>
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</html><text>Furman was burglarizing a private home when a family member discovered him. He attempted to flee, and in doing so tripped and fell. The gun that he was carrying went off and killed a resident of the home. He was convicted of murder and sentenced to death (Two other death penalty cases were decided along with Furman: Jackson v. Georgia and Branch v. Texas. These cases concern the constitutionality of the death sentence for rape and murder convictions, respectively).</text></facts><questions /><conclusion><html><p>Yes. The Court's one-page per curiam opinion held that the imposition of the death penalty in these cases constituted cruel and unusual punishment and violated the Constitution. In over two hundred pages of concurrence and dissents, the justices articulated their views on this controversial subject. Only Justices Brennan and Marshall believed the death penalty to be unconstitutional in all instances. Other concurrences focused on the arbitrary nature with which death sentences have been imposed, often indicating a racial bias against black defendants. The Court's decision forced states and the national legislature to rethink their statutes for capital offenses to assure that the death penalty would not be administered in a capricious or discriminatory manner.</p>
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</html><text>Yes. The Court's one-page per curiam opinion held that the imposition of the death penalty in these cases constituted cruel and unusual punishment and violated the Constitution. In over two hundred pages of concurrence and dissents, the justices articulated their views on this controversial subject. Only Justices Brennan and Marshall believed the death penalty to be unconstitutional in all instances. Other concurrences focused on the arbitrary nature with which death sentences have been imposed, often indicating a racial bias against black defendants. The Court's decision forced states and the national legislature to rethink their statutes for capital offenses to assure that the death penalty would not be administered in a capricious or discriminatory manner.</text></conclusion><advocates><advocate for="Argued the cause for respondent"><name>Dorothy T. Beasley</name><href>https://api.oyez.org/people/dorothy_t_beasley</href></advocate><advocate for="Argued the cause for the petitioner"><name>Anthony G. Amsterdam</name><href>https://api.oyez.org/people/anthony_g_amsterdam</href></advocate><advocate for="for petitioner Jackson"><name>Jack Greenberg</name><href>https://api.oyez.org/people/jack_greenberg</href></advocate><advocate for="for petitioner Branch"><name>Melvyn Carson Bruder</name><href>https://api.oyez.org/people/melvyn_carson_bruder</href></advocate><advocate for=""><name>Jr. Charles Alan Wright</name><href>https://api.oyez.org/people/jr_charles_alan_wright</href></advocate><advocate for="for respondent State of Texas"><name>Charles Alan Wright</name><href>https://api.oyez.org/people/charles_alan_wright</href></advocate><advocate for="for amici curiae"><name>Willard J. Lassers</name><href>https://api.oyez.org/people/willard_j_lassers</href></advocate><advocate for="for amici curiae"><name>Elmer Gertz</name><href>https://api.oyez.org/people/elmer_gertz</href></advocate></advocates><decisions><decision type="per curiam" winning_party="Furman"><description /><votes majority="5" minority="4"><vote opinion_type="concurrence" vote="majority" seniority="2"><justice>William O. Douglas</justice><justice_href>https://api.oyez.org/people/william_o_douglas</justice_href></vote><vote opinion_type="concurrence" vote="majority" seniority="4"><justice>Potter Stewart</justice><justice_href>https://api.oyez.org/people/potter_stewart</justice_href></vote><vote opinion_type="concurrence" vote="majority" seniority="6"><justice>Thurgood Marshall</justice><justice_href>https://api.oyez.org/people/thurgood_marshall</justice_href></vote><vote opinion_type="concurrence" vote="majority" seniority="3"><justice>William J. Brennan, Jr.</justice><justice_href>https://api.oyez.org/people/william_j_brennan_jr</justice_href></vote><vote opinion_type="concurrence" vote="majority" seniority="5"><justice>Byron R. White</justice><justice_href>https://api.oyez.org/people/byron_r_white</justice_href></vote><vote opinion_type="dissent" vote="minority" seniority="1"><justice>Warren E. Burger</justice><justice_href>https://api.oyez.org/people/warren_e_burger</justice_href></vote><vote opinion_type="dissent" vote="minority" seniority="7"><justice>Harry A. Blackmun</justice><justice_href>https://api.oyez.org/people/harry_a_blackmun</justice_href></vote><vote opinion_type="dissent" vote="minority" seniority="8"><justice>Lewis F. Powell, Jr.</justice><justice_href>https://api.oyez.org/people/lewis_f_powell_jr</justice_href></vote><vote opinion_type="dissent" vote="minority" seniority="9"><justice>William H. Rehnquist</justice><justice_href>https://api.oyez.org/people/william_h_rehnquist</justice_href></vote></votes></decision></decisions><source><href>https://api.oyez.org/cases/1971/69-5030</href><raw_file>D:\PyCharm Community Edition 2024.3.1.1\PythonProject\IBM Z Datathon\json_data\api.oyez.org_cases_1971_69-5030.json</raw_file></source></case> |
