George W. Latimer was born in Draper, Utah, to John and Petria Jensen Latimer on 28 November 1900. He studied law and received his Doctor of Laws from the University of Utah in 1924. From 1924-1940 Latimer practiced law in Salt Lake City, Utah. He married the former Rhoda Carroll on 5 October 1929. In 1932, Latimer joined the Utah National Guard. During the second world war, Latimer served his country as a Colonel in the 40th Invantry Division of the United States Army (1942-1943). The following two years from 1944-1945 he was the Cheif-of-staff of the 40th Infantry Division. Following his war service, Latimer returned to his law practice until he was appointed a Justice of the Utah Supreme Court a position he held from 1946-1951. Following his tenure as a Justice, Latimer served as a Judge of the United States Court of Military Appeals. In 1961 he returned to private practice as a partner in the firm of Parsons, Behle and Latimer. From 1969-1974 he represented Lt. William Calley in a capital court case.
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Boxes 1-24 were donated in 1980 (8 linear feet).
Box 25 was donated in 1990 (0.5 linear feet).
Boxes 26-27 were donated in 1994 (1 linear feet).
Boxes 28-29 were donated in 2006 (0.75 linear feet).
Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Processed by Marlene Lewis and Manuscripts staff in 1980-1990s.
Addendum processed by Matthew Weathered in 2013
The George W. Latimer papers (1926-2007) consists largely of materials connected with Latimer's defense of William Laws Calley in his trial for murder in connection with the 1968 My Lai incident in Vietnam. Included are correspondence between the members of the defense counsel and the government prosecution; court orders, motions and petitions; materials related to the government investigation, such as depositions taken by the military investigative team; and hearings reports, trial records, and appellant exhibits. Also present are materials from the post-court martial appeals, including correspondence, motions, petitions, drafts, exhibits, statements, briefs, and government replies. Other materials relating to the trial of Calley include correspondence seeking Presidential clemency and consideration of the Calley case by the military Parole and Clemency Board; correspondence with people supporting Calley either morally or financially; information on two civil suits by Calley and one against him by the Buddhist Congregation of Vietnam; correspondence concerning articles or books to be written about Calley and drafts of the articles by John Sacks written from interviews with the lieutenant for publication in Esquire magazine; and news clippings about the trial. Additional documents regarding other court cases that involved Latimer are in the collection, as are briefs from court cases in which Latimer's law firm was involved.
See also the
Letters exchanged between members of the defense counsel concerning the petitions and motions to be presented to the military court-martial in behalf of Lt. William L. Calley. Also included are letters from the Army prosecution panel relaying necessary information about witnesses and evidence.
Transcript of a press briefing held at the Pentagon on 17 December 1969 with Major General K. J. Hodson the Judge Advocate General regarding military justice.
Statement concerning events at My Lai by US Army Chief of Staff, General William C. Westmoreland, before the Special Subcommitte on Son My of the House Committee on Armed Services.
Miscellaneous information about military trials, including regulations governing court-martial.
Orders governing conduct of the witnesses and the trial.
Motions filed in December of 1969 giving defense reasons to dismiss all charges against Lieutenant Calley. Including a copy of the motion to dismiss "all charges and specifications because the Court-martial lacks jurisdiction over the person of the accused.
Various defense motions and petitions seeking relief from the charges, access to witnesses and evidence and other legal material. Also included are the government replies to many of these motions.
Brief which presents the defense view that a continuation of the proceedings would deny Lt. Calley his constitutional rights.
Brief describing what the defense feels in unfair influence exercised by military authorities or the influence of statements of military commanders of the military court martial.
Handwritten notes regarding the case and possible arguments, and summaries of witness depositions.
Drafts of statements made by Lt. Calley concerning the events at My Lai.
Roster for Company C of the 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry, 11th LIB, the American Division which was involved in Task Force Barker, the assault on My Lai.
Depositions taken by military investigators concerning the events at My Lai. The statements, arranged alphabetically, range from heresay evidence, to remarks made by men involved in the assault force.
Maps drawn by witnesses to illustrate and show locations of events in and around My Lai.
Report of the investigation of the Department of the Army Inspector General on the "incident of 16 March 1968 My Lai (4), RVN.
The report itself is not included, only the "case progress forms" making up enclosures 6 through 14.
Transcripts of the hearings of 20 January and 23 October 1970.
List of written witness testimony offered at the Article 32 investigation hearing.
This document details the charges brought by the United States Government against Lt. William Laws Calley.
Volume 1, Transcript of Testimony (Quintuplicate) Report of Article 32 Investigation.
Volume 1, Book 1. Article 32 Investigation, Allied Papers of the investigation hearings.
Volume 1 books 2-3 Included of the Article 32 Investigation.
Allied papers of the investigation hearings.
Appendices 1-7 and exhibits 1-22.
Government reply to assignment of errors and correspondence, motions, and information on the hearing.
Includes extracts from district court record, testimony transcript, and some appellate, prosecution, and defense exhibits.
Draft, letter, and press release.
Trial record, exhibits, and appeal process materials.
Includes United States Court of Military Appeals opinion.
Appendix for a writ of habeas corpus.
Course description, reading list, and case examples.
Rules and respondent and petitioner briefs.
News clippings, media dialog, and periodicals.
News articles, retirement and military records, and miscellaneous.
Affidavits, case summary, brief, and records proceedings.
Motions, appeals, orders and answers.