{"ID":61231,"name":"Stovall v. Denno","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/cases\/1966\/254","view_count":0,"docket_number":"254","additional_docket_numbers":null,"manner_of_jurisdiction":"Writ of \u003Ci\u003Ecertiorari\u003C\/i\u003E","first_party":"Theodore Stovall","second_party":"Wilfred Denno, Warden","timeline":[{"event":"Argued","dates":[-90698400],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/50187"},{"event":"Decided","dates":[-80679600],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/50188"},{"event":"Granted","dates":[-111524400],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/53590"}],"lower_court":{"ID":7,"name":"United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/taxonomy\/term\/7"},"facts_of_the_case":"\u003Cp\u003EOn August 23, 1961, Dr. Paul Berheldt was stabbed to death in the kitchen of his home. His wife was also injured in the attack. The next day, Theodore Stovall was arrested for the murder and promptly arraigned, but he did not yet have counsel. On August 25, although Stovall had still not retained counsel, police brought him to the hospital room where Mrs. Berheldt\u2019s was recovering from surgery to see if she could identify him. Stovall was the only African-American man in the room and was handcuffed to a police officer. Mrs. Berheldt positively identified him after he was directed to say a few words for voice identification purposes. The prosecution used this identification as evidence in the trial, and Mrs. Berheldt again identified Stovall in court.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EStovall was convicted, and the New York Court of Appeals affirmed. Stovall sought habeas corpus relief in district court on the grounds that Mrs. Berheldt\u2019s identification was inadmissible. The district court dismissed after hearing argument on an unrelated issue. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn 1967, the Court issued rulings in \u003Ci\u003EUnited States v. Wade\u003C\/i\u003E and \u003Ci\u003EGilbert v. California\u003C\/i\u003E that excluded identification evidence from trial when identification came from a tainted lineup \u2014 one at which the defendants did not have counsel present.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Cp\u003E(1) Can the rulings in \u003Ci\u003EUnited States v. Wade\u003C\/i\u003E and \u003Ci\u003EGilbert v. California\u003C\/i\u003E be applied retroactively?\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E(2) Did Mrs. Berheldt\u2019s identification of Stovall deprive him of his Fourteenth Amendment right to due process?\u003C\/p\u003E\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003ENo, No. Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. delivered the opinion of the 6-3 majority. The Court held that the decision to retroactively apply rulings of criminal procedure depended on the potential impact of that ruling on the fact-finding at trial. In this case, the identification, while a crucial stage of the investigation and trial, could be conducted well or poorly regardless of the presence of counsel. The Court held that the circumstances of this case were such that, given the uncertainty of Mrs. Berheldt\u2019s medical status, the identification could not have been conducted any other way. Also, the retroactive application of the rulings in \u003Ci\u003EUnited States v. Wade\u003C\/i\u003E and \u003Ci\u003EGilbert v. California\u003C\/i\u003E would greatly disrupt the justice system.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn his concurring opinion, Justice Byron R. White wrote that the identification in the hospital room was not constitutionally improper. Justice John M. Harlan and Justice Potter Stewart joined in the concurrence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJustice William O. Douglas wrote a dissent and argued that the right to have counsel present at an identification should be granted retroactively.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJustice Abe Fortas wrote a dissent and argued that the State\u2019s use of the hospital identification in the trial was prejudicial and violated Stovall\u2019s Fourteenth Amendment right to due process.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn his dissent, Justice Hugo L. Black argued that people put in prison by evidence that is later found unconstitutional should not be denied the benefit of those rulings. He also argued that the Court\u2019s case-by-case determination of due process granted the Court too much power and failed to give the government a solid constitutional standard. \u003C\/p\u003E\n","advocates":[{"advocate":{"ID":34922,"name":"Leon B. 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