Mendes v. Johnson, 389 A.2d 781 (1978)

Citation: Mendes v. Johnson, 389 A.2d 781 (1978)
Parent Document: Mendes v. Johnson, 389 A.2d 781 (1978)
Jurisdiction: DC (municipal)
Effective Date: 1978-06-13
Original Source: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2073911/mendes-v-johnson/ ↗

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The abandonment of a rigid, formalistic dogma in favor of the adoption of a more flexible, pragmatic approach to this question has been sanctioned by the Supreme Court. The Court provided guidance on the issue in Linkletter v. Walker, 381 U.S. 618, 85 S.Ct. 1731, 14 L.Ed.2d 601 (1965). In deciding that the rule of Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 81 S.Ct. 1684, 6 L.Ed.2d 1081 (1961), was not to apply retroactively in collateral attacks on state court convictions which had become final before the issuance of the Mapp decision, the Supreme Court reviewed its pronouncements on the retro-activity problem. Rejecting in dicta the notion that different rules of retroactivity should apply in civil and criminal cases, the Court ruled:

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