Roll v. Larson

CALLISTER, Chief Justice:

Plaintiff was charged with first-degree murder; he filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, for the purpose of having a judicial determination of his right to bail. Upon hearing, the trial court ruled that as a result of the holding in Furman v. Georgia, 1 the death penalty might not be imposed in the State of Utah; therefore, first-degree murder was no longer a capital offense. The trial court reasoned that plaintiff was charged with a non-capital crime and that he was entitled to bail as a matter of right. Defendant appeals and urges that first-degree murder is…