Stats. Norris was brought to trial in November, 1933. See also, Wayne R. LaFave et al., Criminal Procedure 459, Volume, Sections 8.1-12.5 (West, 2nd, 1999), at 460.). The Court heard their appeals as one consolidated case – Powell v. Alabama – in 1932. Beaney’s 1955 book was invaluable to us in researching the historical and then-contemporary laws of the states (prior to Gideon). By assigning two lawyers to represent the nine Scottsboro Boys, the trial judge complied with the letter of the law. 3794); and Nebraska, felonies (Rev. The posse arrested nine of the young men of color.

Despite testimony by doctors who had examined the women that no rape had occurred, the all-white jury convicted the nine, and all but the youngest, who was 12 years old, were sentenced to death. . Over the course of the next three days, four separate all-white juries, trying the defendants in groups of two or three at a time, found all nine of the Scottsboro Boys guilty as charged, and all but one was sentenced to death. Patterson, however, had escaped in 1948 and fled to Michigan, where, three years later, he was convicted of manslaughter in the stabbing death of another black.
[1] Shortly after the train crossed into northern Alabama, a fight broke out between a group of seven white boys and a larger group of black teenagers, with almost all of the white teenagers being thrown off of the slow-moving train.

55, 77 L.Ed. To hold otherwise would be to ignore the fundamental postulate . So, with the Scottsboro Boys accused of a capital crime, it was typical that the judge’s first point of order was to appoint counsel to represent the defendants at trial, which began only twelve days after the incident aboard the train.

(“At the time of [the Powell] case, roughly half of the states had any allowance for appointment of counsel in non-capital cases.” [Williams, Hugh Richard, The History of the Right to Free Counsel in America (Illinois University School of Law: Fall 2001), at 29.] The United States Supreme Court, in Powell v. Alabama found that the state had violated the boys’ Constitutional rights by not allowing them to discuss the case with their lawyers. [1] Our account of the Scottsboro Boys’ saga is based on and condensed from accounts provided in: (1) the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932); (2) William Beaney, The Right to Counsel in American Courts (U of Mich, 1955), at 151-157; and (3) Linder, Douglas O. The last known surviving member of the group, Norris, who had fled to the North after his parole in 1946, was granted a full pardon by the governor of Alabama in 1976. [3] Including, but not limited to: Arkansas, felony only (Ark. [2] But, many states went further, and to some extent provided access to free legal representation in certain criminal matters. Word was sent up ahead, and when the train arrived near the town of Scottsboro, Alabama, a sheriff’s posse was waiting. The high court's unanimous decision held that the exclusion of African Americans from Alabama juries invalidated defendant … 2. The cause of the “Scottsboro Boys” was championed, and in some cases exploited, by Northern liberal and radical groups, notably the Communist Party of the U.S.A. And it wouldn’t be very long before this fundamental fairness test came into use. Alabama | Encyclopedia of Alabama. In 1932 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the convictions (Powell v. Alabama) on the grounds that the defendants had not received adequate legal counsel in a capital case. . Stat., 1929, sec. With each sensational account appearing in the local papers, the community’s outrage spread like brushfire. In March 1931, a large number of kids and young adults hopped aboard a freight train in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Systemic Litigation & Federal Investigations. In a 1935 decision (Norris v. Get kids back-to-school ready with Expedition: Learn!

He lacks both the skill and knowledge adequately to prepare his defense, even though he have a perfect one. Without it, though he be not guilty, he faces the danger of conviction because he does not know how to establish his innocence. We present the facts you need to know about Sixth Amendment case law, standards, and litigation in the FACTS & RESOURCES section of our website. Argued October 10, 1932. . [1] Looking back to the 1926 case, Hebert v. Louisiana, the Court justified its decision by saying: “. Further trials of the rest of the defendants resulted in more reconvictions and successful appeals until, after persistent pressure from citizens’ groups, the state freed the four youngest (who had already served six years in jail) and later paroled Charles Weems, Andy Wright, and Clarence Norris. Nevertheless, “in 1786 Virginia enacted a statute which allowed the accused to retain counsel to assist him at the trial.” (William Beaney, The Right to Counsel in American Courts (U of Mich, 1955), at 19.) The state of Alabama then retried one of the accused and again convicted him. In November 1932, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Powell v. Alabama that the Scottsboro defendants had been denied the right to counsel, which violated … 287 U.S. 45. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription.

The crime is said to have been committed on March 25, 1931. 2, fining him $25,000. Certainly, this list extends to many other states as well. The state of Alabama then retried one of the accused and again convicted him. This article was most recently revised and updated by, Encyclopedia of Alabama - Scottsboro Trials, Famous Trials - "Scottsboro Boys" Trials (1931-1937), CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas - Arkansas "Scottsboro" Case, Scottsboro Case - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). Decided November 7, 1932. In Alabama, trial courts were obliged, under state statute, to appoint counsel in capital cases whenever the defendant is incapable of hiring an attorney on his own. By signing up for this email, you are agreeing to news, offers, and information from Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Even the intelligent and educated layman has small and sometimes no skill in the science of law.

In Gideon, the court states that if the poor man charged with crime has to face his accusers without a lawyer to assist him that fairness and justice could not possibly be achieved.
Far from a radical expansion of the right to counsel, the Supreme Court’s decision in Powell v. Alabama was rather narrow. Of those 48 states, only Virginia’s state constitution omitted a right to the assistance of counsel. . Not until the first day of the trial were the defendants provided with the services of two volunteer lawyers. Stats (1921), Chap 44, Sec. We present the facts you need to know about Sixth Amendment case law, standards, and litigation in the FACTS & RESOURCES section of our website. .

The right to be heard would be, in many cases, of little avail if it did not comprehend the right to be heard by counsel. Nos.

Systemic Litigation & Federal Investigations, By assigning two lawyers to represent the nine Scottsboro Boys. 3051); Delaware, felony only (Del. He died in prison.

In a 1935 decision (Norris v. Alabama), the U.S. Supreme Court overturned this conviction, ruling that the state had systematically excluded blacks from juries. The Trials of “The Scottsboro Boys” (1999). A poster advertising a protest on behalf of the “Scottsboro Boys,” 1931. In Powell v. Alabama, the United States Supreme Court reversed the original rulings made by the state courts. Other states had established a similar obligation to appoint counsel in felonies or certain serious felonies. Therefore, in order to protect an individual’s constitutional right to a fair hearing, the Court held that in capital cases, state trial courts have an obligation under the Fourteenth Amendment to appoint counsel. Alabama in the 1930’s was no exception. The nine, after nearly being lynched, were brought to trial in Scottsboro in April 1931, just three weeks after their arrests. The immediate impact of Powell v. Alabama was fairly limited, because every state already required courts to appoint counsel in capital cases. The House adopted H.Res. In 1932 the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the convictions (Powell v. Alabama) on the grounds that the defendants had not received adequate legal counsel in a capital case. At the time of the Scottsboro Boys’ trial, even without the mandate of the federal government, every state in the Union had established the right to have the assistance of counsel similar to that found in the Sixth Amendment. The announcement of the verdict and sentences brought a storm of charges from outside the South that a gross miscarriage of justice had occurred in Scottsboro. While the suit was making its way through the court system, Powell was re-elected in the 1968 election and was ultimately re-seated in the 91st Congress.

[1] See Powell at 71: “All that it is necessary now to decide, as we do decide, is that, in a capital case, where the defendant is unable to employ counsel and is incapable adequately of making his own defense because of ignorance, feeble mindedness, illiteracy, or the like, it is the duty of the court, whether requested or not, to assign counsel for him as a necessary requisite of due process of law, and that duty is not discharged by an assignment at such a time or under such circumstances as to preclude the giving of effective aid in the preparation and trial of the case.”. They were all between 13 and 19 years old. [3] But every state required the appointment of counsel in capital cases. 98, 99, and 100. Feeling justice was not done, members of the legal community helped the Scottsboro Boys appeal their case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming that their rights to a fair hearing and to have the assistance of counsel, as guaranteed under the Bill of Rights, were violated because their attorneys were given no opportunity to prepare for the trial.

Fearing the growing mob outside, the sheriff called in the local militia to help protect the defendants day and night. They would be granted a new trial, and this time with the assistance of effective defense counsel. In 1930’s Alabama, rape was a capital offense. Scottsboro case, major U.S. civil rights controversy of the 1930s surrounding the prosecution in Scottsboro, Alabama, of nine black youths charged with the rape of two white women. The youngest – only 13 years old – was instead sentenced to life in prison. He requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings against him. Rather it was the trial court’s failure to grant a fair hearing: the attorneys appointed to the Scottsboro Boys’ defense were so unqualified that the representation the defendants received was effectively the same as if they had received no representation at all. The judge appointed a real estate lawyer from Chattanooga, who wasn’t licensed in Alabama and was admittedly unfamiliar the state’s rules of criminal procedure, along with a retired local attorney who hadn’t practiced in years to represent all nine co-defendants. Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932) Powell v. Alabama.