"Solesbee versus Balkcom"

Case Study # 110212

Law > Constitution

A discussion on whether a judge can decide that a convict is insane after he has been sentenced.

1,269 words () | 5 sources | APA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses the case of "Solesbee versus Balkcom", which highlighted whether a Georgia State Code that permits the governor to determine whether a convict has become insane after his or her conviction and sentence, violates the U.S. Constitution. The paper notes that the Georgia Code Sections 27-2602, provides the governor with the authority to appoint medical doctors to examine a convict and make a declaration of sanity or otherwise. The paper records that Solesbee had been convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The paper notes that application was made to the governor for a postponement of this execution on the grounds that since his conviction he had become insane. This paper investigates the background of the case, procedural history of "Solesbee versus Balkcom" summation of the case, the high Court's decision, their rationale of their decision, and personal notes on the Solesbee case.

Outline:
Introduction
Citation
Short Statement of Facts - Background
Brief Procedural History
Summation
Court's decision
Rationale of the Court
Notes

From the Paper:

"The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the due process clause merely prevents a conviction and sentence without providing for a particular process to run its course. Taken at its highest it merely prevents the execution of an insane person and by doing so does not prevent any State implementing a policy for determining whether or not the person who is sentenced is sane or not. The determination of such a question is entirely discretionary and invokes medical rather than legal questions. The discretion afforded the governor, who must consult with medical doctors, cannot be said to give rise to a contravention of the due process clause contained in the Fourteenths Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. "

Sample of Sources Used:

Cornell University Law School. (2008). U.S. Constitution: Fourteenth Amendment. Retrieved 10-Aug-2008 from http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.amendmentxiv.html
Findlaw.com. (2008). Solesbee v. Balkcom, 339 U.S. 9 [1950]. Georgia Code Sections 27-2602. Retrieved 10-Aug-2008 from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=339&invol=9
Hibben v. Smith, 191 US, 310 [1903]
Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center. (n.d.) Solesbee v Balkcom, 339 U.S. 9 [1950]. Retrieved 10-Aug-2008 from http://supreme.justia.com/us/339/9/
Solesbee v Balkcom, 339 US [1950]