Aulden E. Thomas v. United States

Petitioner was convicted of armed robbery of a post office in 1976, and his conviction was affirmed on appeal. United States v. Thomas, 543 F.2d 1226 (8th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1051, 97 S.Ct. 764, 50 L.Ed.2d 768 (1977). On November 13, 1978 petitioner sent a letter to the district court requesting copies of the grand jury minutes and transcript in his armed robbery case. On November 30, 1978 a second letter was sent by petitioner, this time demanding the material within ten days under the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552.

The district court 1 treated these letters as…