 Aikens v. California

Aikens v. California, 406 U.S. 813 (1972), was a decision of the United States Supreme Court where a petitioner (in the U.S. Supreme Court, the plaintiff (Aikens) is called the "petitioner" and the defendant (the State of California) is called the "respondent") was appealing his conviction and death sentence.After oral argument had been made on the case, but before the court decided on it, the Supreme Court of California in "People v. Anderson", declared the death penalty unconstitutional under the state constitution.