Fielden v. Illinois

Citations

• 143 U.S. 452
• 12 S. Ct. 528
• 36 L. Ed. 224
• 1892 U.S. LEXIS 2035

Syllabus

<p>E. was convicted of murder, in the Criminal Court of Cook County, Illinois, . and sentenced by that court to suffer the penalty of death. Upon writ of error to the Supreme Court of Illinois, that judgment was affirmed and the day. fixed in the original judgment for carrying the sentence into execution having passed, that court fixed another clay. After the expiration of the term the accused applied for a correction of the record of the-Supreme Court, so as to show that he was not present in that court when the original judgment was affirmed, and another day fixed for the execution. The application was denied upon the ground, in part, that amendments of the record of the court in derogation of the final judgment could not be allowed at a subsequent term. Held,</p> <p>(1) That the law of Illinois, as declared by its highest court, in respect to amendments of the record, was applicable to all persons within' the jurisdiction of that State, and its enforcement against the plaintiff in error was not a denial to him by the State of the equal protection of the laws;</p> <p>(2) That-due process of law did not require the presence of the accused in the appellate court when the original judgment of the trial court was affirmed, and a new day fixed for his execution.</p>