Thompson v. Washington

Thompson v. Washington, 434 U.S. 898 (1977), was a case dismissed by the Supreme Court of the United States for lack of federal question jurisdiction.[1]

Thompson v. Washington
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided October 17, 1977
Full case name	Thompson v. Washington
Citations	434 U.S. 898 (more) 98 S. Ct. 290; 54 L. Ed. 2d 185; 1977 U.S. LEXIS 3607
Holding
Appeal from Sup. Ct. Wash. dismissed for want of substantial federal question.
Court membership
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger Associate Justices William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart Byron White · Thurgood Marshall Harry Blackmun · Lewis F. Powell Jr. William Rehnquist · John P. Stevens

Background

The case was on appeal from the Supreme Court of Washington, and it involved a second degree murder conviction based on the felony murder rule.[2]

Subsequent developments

Thompson v. Washington was cited in the later Washington case State v. Wanrow, 91 Wash.2d 301 (1978), as an endorsement of the constitutionality of the felony murder rule.[3]

References

1. Thompson v. Washington, 434 U.S. 898 (1977).
2. State v. Thompson, 88 Wash.2d 13 (1977)
3. Bonnie, R.J. et al. Criminal Law, Second Edition. Foundation Press, New York, NY: 2004, p. 875