Ford ex rel. Ford v. Wainwright

I respectfully dissent. In the law, as in many other disciplines, where one ends up is frequently determined by where one begins. The majority fails to' address and *529decide whether there is a constitutional prohibition against execution of an insane person. The court says that “[n]o federal appellate court has so held.” Majority opinion at 4. Before addressing a party’s constitutional due process rights, it is necessary to first decide the substantive constitutional right to which he is entitled, if any. Dissenting, Justice Frankfurter challenged the majority of the Court in Soles-bee to reach…