Sanks v. Georgia
John Marshall Harlan II
Syllabus
942142Sanks v. Georgia — SyllabusJohn Marshall Harlan II
Court Documents
Concurring Opinion
Black

United States Supreme Court

401 U.S. 144

Sanks  v.  Georgia

 Argued: Dec. 8, 1969. --- Decided: Nov 17-18, 1970

Syllabus

As a condition precedent to making a defense against a summary eviction proceeding, Georgia law provided that the tenant post a surety bond for double the amount due at the end of the trial, the landlord becoming entitled to such double rent should the tenant lose his case. Following the Georgia Supreme Court's upholding of that statutory scheme over due process and equal protection challenges by appellants, indigent tenants seeking to contest summary eviction, appellants left the premises their landlords initially sought to recover, and entirely new legislation was enacted containing neither the bondposting nor double-rent requirement. Held: These ensuing developments make it inappropriate for this Court to resolve the issues originally raised by appellants since it cannot be determined to what extent adjudication of those issues would be material to any further litigation ensuing on remand. Pp. 147-153.

225 Ga. 88, 166 S.E.2d 19, appeal dismissed and remanded.

Michael D. Padnos, Atlanta, Ga., for appellants.

Alfred L. Evans, Jr., Atlanta, Ga., for appellees.

Mr. Justice HARLAN delivered the opinion of the Court.

Notes edit

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).

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