was the attorney who represented the scottsboro boys in the 1930s.

by Kolby Towne IV Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago 10 min read

Attorney Samuel Leibowitz with the Scottsboro boys, Courtesy: Morgan County Archives. When Haywood Patterson was found guilty in 1933, it was the first time in fifteen years that Samuel Leibowitz had lost a case.

Who was the defense attorney in the Scottsboro case?

Aug 11, 2017 · Attorney Samuel Leibowitz with the Scottsboro boys, Courtesy: Morgan County Archives. When Haywood Patterson was found guilty in 1933, it was the first time in fifteen years that Samuel Leibowitz...

What happened to the Scottsboro Boys in the 1930s?

The two attorneys who represented the Scottsboro boys in the trial were Stephen Roddy, and Milo Moody. Both defense attorneys were incompetent and simply unprepared to defend the Scottsboro boys against the rape accusations made upon them.

Did the Scottsboro Boys have a right to counsel?

Nov 24, 2016 · Samuel Leibowitz was a criminal lawyer best known for defending the Scottsboro Boys, nine young African-Americans sentenced to death for a crime they did not commit. Samuel’s tireless advocacy on behalf of the boys – the youngest was only 12 years old – led to profound changes in the criminal justice system, and the end of all-white juries in the South.

What did the Scottsboro Boys wear in court?

May 22, 2017 · The two attorneys who represented the Scottsboro boys in the trial were Stephen Roddy, and Milo Moody. Both defense attorneys were incompetent and simply unprepared to defend the Scottsboro boys against the rape accusations made upon them.

Who was Samuel Leibowitz's last witness on the stand?

Inside, Leibowitz called each to the stand in turn. Each denied having ever touched Victoria Price or Ruby Bates. The last to take the stand was Haywood Patterson.

Is Ruby Bates still alive?

In 1940, Bates moved to Washington state, where she married. She returned to Alabama in the 1960's. She died on October 27, 1976 at age sixty-three.

Why was the Scottsboro case unfair?

Alabama, the Supreme Court overturned the Scottsboro convictions by a vote of 7 to 2. The majority opinion determined that the defendants were denied a fair trial due to ineffective counsel who had no time to prepare, resulting in a violation of the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment.

What happened to Victoria Price after the Scottsboro case?

The case was dismissed. In 1982, Victoria Price died without ever having apoligized for her role in the injustice visited upon the Scottsboro Boys.

How many Scottsboro boys were convicted?

After the four trials were completed, all nine of the Scottsboro boys were convicted, eight out of nine were sentenced to death in the electric chair. The youngest of the Scottsboro boys, twelve-year-old Roy Wright, was sentenced to life in prison due to his young age. After the guilty verdicts were announced, many Americans anticipated that the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) would come to defend the Scottsboro boys.

Why did the Supreme Court deny Scottsboro defendants due process?

The Supreme Court made their decision on November 7th, 1932 in a 7-2 vote that the trial courts denied the Scottsboro defendants due process because they were not given reasonable time and opportunity to secure counsel in their defense (“Powell v. Alabama”). The supreme court ordered that the Scottsboro defendants would have to be afforded new trials. The supreme court case of Powell v Alabama case was a landmark case in the sense that it was an early example of constitutional protection in the field of criminal justice (Congdon, 172).

Who evaluated the two women after they claimed they were raped?

R Bridges and John Lynch, who were the doctors that evaluated the two women after they claimed that they have been raped (“Scottsboro Boys, Trial and Defense Campaign”). Roddy and Moody also failed to ask Ruby Bates about contradictions and inconsistencies with her testimony in comparison to the testimony that Victoria Price gave. Another example of the two defense attorney’s incompetence is how they only used the defendants themselves as witnesses. The nine teenage defendants made an inconsistent and incoherent testimony that was filled with obvious contradictory statements.

Who was the black man who was on the train?

Eventually, the blacks forced all but one of the members of the white men off the train. Patterson pulled the remaining white man, Orville Gilley, back onto the train after it had accelerated to a life-threatening speed.

Did the defense attorneys cross examine Victoria Price?

Moody and Roddy also made a feeble threeminute cross examination on Victoria Price, and didn’t even cross examine doctors R.

What were the Scottsboro boys accused of?

The Scottsboro Boys were nine African-American teenagers, ages 12 to 19, accused in Alabama of raping two white women in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial.

Who was involved in the Scottsboro case?

After a demonstration in Harlem, the Communist Party USA took an interest in the Scottsboro case. Chattanooga Party member James Allen edited the Communist Southern Worker, and publicized "the plight of the boys". The Party used its legal arm, the International Labor Defense (ILD), to take up their cases, and persuaded the defendants' parents to let the party champion their cause. The ILD retained attorneys George W. Chamlee, who filed the first motions, and Joseph Brodsky .

What does Lead Belly say in the Scottsboro Boys song?

In the song, he warns "colored" people to watch out if they go to Alabama, saying that "the man gonna get ya", and that the "Scottsboro boys [will] tell ya what it's all about.".

What is the parallel between Native Son and the court scene?

There is a parallel between the court scene in Native Son in which Max calls the "hate and impatience" of "the mob congregated upon the streets beyond the window" (Wright 386) and the "mob who surrounded the Scottsboro jail with rope and kerosene" after the Scottsboro boys' initial conviction.

What was the name of the movie that proved that Price and Bates were prostitutes?

An NBC TV movie, Judge Horton and the Scottsboro Boys (1976), asserted that the defense had proven that Price and Bates were prostitutes; both sued NBC over their portrayals. Bates died in 1976 in Washington state, where she lived with her carpenter husband, and her case was not heard.

Where are the letters from the Scottsboro Boys Trials?

To See Justice Done: Letters from the Scottsboro Boys Trials A digital exhibit by the Scottsboro Boys Museum & Cultural Center and the University of Alabama.

How old was Haywood Patterson when he was on the train?

A group of white teenage boys saw 18-year-old Haywood Patterson on the train and attempted to push him off the train, claiming that it was "a white man's train". A group of whites gathered rocks and attempted to force all of the black men from the train.

Who overturned the Scottsboro conviction?

Arguing before the Supreme Court , Samuel Leibowitz proved that African-Americans had been systematically kept off Alabama juries. For this reason, the Supreme Court finally overturned the Scottsboro convictions. Samuel called the decision “a triumph for American justice.”

What did Attorney General Knight play on during the trial?

During the trial, Attorney General Knight played on anti-Semitic prejudices. He asked the jury, “Now the question in this case is – is justice going to be bought and sold in Alabama with Jew money from New York?” Never mind that Samuel Leibowitz was working for free.

When did Samuel Leibowitz die?

He later became a judge, and in 1962 was appointed to the New York State Supreme Court. Samuel Leibowitz died in 1978 at age 84.

Why did Samuel call black people to the stand?

As part of his defense strategy, Samuel called several local black professionals to the stand to show they were qualified to serve as jurors, but had been excluded because of their race. One of them, John Sanford, was cross-examined by Attorney General Thomas Knight, and addressed by his first name, “John.” Twice, Samuel asked the prosecutor to show respect and call the witness “Mr.” as he did with white witnesses. Knight ignored him and kept calling the man “John.”

When were the Scottsboro boys convicted?

In the first set of trials in April 1931 , an all-white, all-male jury quickly convicted the Scottsboro Boys and sentenced eight of them to death.

Who were the Scottsboro boys?

Alabama officials eventually agreed to let four of the convicted Scottsboro Boys—Weems, Andy Wright, Norris and Powell —out on parole.

What was the name of the case in which two black teenagers were accused of rape?

Alabama. Norris v. Alabama. The Scottsboro Boys were nine black teenagers falsely accused of raping two white women aboard a train near Scottsboro, Alabama, in 1931. The trials and repeated retrials of the Scottsboro Boys sparked an international uproar and produced two landmark U.S. Supreme Court verdicts, even as the defendants were forced ...

What was the second landmark decision in the Scottsboro Boys case?

This second landmark decision in the Scottsboro Boys case would help integrate future juries across the nation. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) and other civil rights groups joined the ILD that year to form the Scottsboro Defense Committee, which reorganized the defense effort for the next set of retrials.

How many teenagers were arrested in Scottsboro?

The nine teenagers—Charlie Weems, Ozie Powell, Clarence Norris, Andrew and Leroy Wright, Olen Montgomery, Willie Roberson, Haywood Patterson and Eugene Williams—were transferred to the local county seat, Scottsboro, to await trial. Only four of them had known each other before their arrest.

Why did the Alabama National Guard call in the Alabama National Guard?

As news spread of the alleged rape (a highly inflammatory charge given the Jim Crow laws in the South), an angry white mob surrounded the jail, leading the local sheriff to call in the Alabama National Guard to prevent a lynching.

What was the legal wing of the Communist Party that took on the boys case?

At this point, the International Labor Defense (ILD), the legal wing of the American Communist Party, took on the boys’ case, seeing its potential to galvanize public opinion against racism.

What was the march of the Scottsboro boys?

Members of the Communist Party of the United States’ preparing for a march to protest the conviction of the Scottsboro boys, 1933. (Credit: Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images) Civil rights were a cornerstone of the Communist Party’s platform in the U.S., and the party actively courted black intellectuals and leaders in an attempt ...

How long did it take the Scottsboro boys to get out of jail?

Though this legal supergroup managed to sidestep the death penalty for all nine defendants, they didn’t succeed in all nine cases. It would take nearly 20 years before all of the Scottsboro Boys—now men who had undergone multiple trials and served years in the criminal justice system for crimes they did not commit—were released from prison.

What did the NAACP leaders worry about?

In an age of bias and discrimination, NAACP’s leaders worried that they’d be destroyed if they associated with Communism . Meanwhile, American Communists turned their eyes toward other struggles. Their rare moment of collaboration proved almost as fleeting as the train ride that changed the lives of the Scottsboro Boys forever.

What party bickered over the execution of the black teenagers?

As a group of black teenagers awaited execution, the Communist Party and the NAACP bickered over their legal defense. As a group of black teenagers awaited execution, the Communist Party and the NAACP bickered over their legal defense. As the freight train whisked its way over the Alabama rails in 1931, nine boys’ lives were changed forever.

What was the Communist Party's legal defense arm?

At this point, an unlikely ally swooped in to mobilize on their behalf: the American Communist Party. At the time, the party was working to make inroads in the United States. Legal advocacy was a critical part of that strategy, and International Labor Defense, the party’s legal defense arm, specialized in offering free legal representation in high-profile cases, like that of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two Italian anarchists who were tried and ultimately executed for murder and robbery in 1927. The group also took on labor disputes and free speech cases.

How many boys died on the Alabama train?

As the freight train whisked its way over the Alabama rails in 1931, nine boys’ lives were changed forever. The details of their skirmish with a group of white men and two women on the train are still unclear. But by the end of the train ride, nine young men—all African American, all teenagers—were headed toward their death by an unjust, vigilante mob and a legal system that didn’t value their lives.

Did Darrow and Hays sign on with the ILD?

In public, the ILD said it welcomed Darrow’s contribution to the case, but in private they leaned on the Scottsboro parents to let them represent them instead. All of the boys signed on with the ILD, and Darrow and Hays withdrew from the case with bitter words. The perception was that the NAACP had faltered at a time when they should have stood behind the Scottsboro Boys.

Why did the Scottsboro Boys appeal?

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. The Court heard their appeals as one consolidated case – Powell v. Alabama – in 1932.

What was the story of the Scottsboro boys?

The story of the Scottsboro Boys in Powell v. Alabama. In March 1931, a large number of kids and young adults hopped aboard a freight train in Chattanooga, Tennessee. [1] .

Why did the sheriff call in the militia?

Fearing the growing mob outside, the sheriff called in the local militia to help protect the defendants day and night. At arraignment, they each pleaded not guilty of the charges against them. Their trial began just a few days later. At the time of the Scottsboro Boys’ trial, even without the mandate of the federal government, ...

How many states were in the Scottsboro Boys trial?

The Trials of “The Scottsboro Boys” (1999). [2] As of 1931, there were only 48 states in the Union (Alaska and Hawaii would not join until 1959). Of those 48 states, only Virginia’s state constitution omitted a right to the assistance of counsel.

When was rape a capital offense in Alabama?

In 1930 ’s Alabama, rape was a capital offense. The posse arrested nine of the young men of color. They were all between 13 and 19 years old. With each sensational account appearing in the local papers, the community’s outrage spread like brushfire.

What was the first point of order in Alabama in the 1930s?

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.

Overview

The Scottsboro Boys were nine African American teenagers, ages 13 to 20, accused in Alabama of raping two white women in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial. The cases included a lynch mob before the suspects had been indicted, all-white juries, rushed trials, and disruptive mobs. It is commonly cited as an example of a mis…

Arrests and accusations

On March 25, 1931, the Southern Railway line between Chattanooga and Memphis, Tennessee, had nine black youths who were riding on a freight train with several white males and two white women. A fight broke out between the white and black groups near the Lookout Mountain tunnel, and the whites were kicked off the train. The whites went to a sheriff in the nearby town Paint Rock, …

Lynch mobs

In the Jim Crow South, lynching of black males accused of raping or murdering whites was common; word quickly spread of the arrest and rape story. Soon a lynch mob gathered at the jail in Scottsboro, demanding the youths be surrendered to them.
Sheriff Matt Wann stood in front of the jail and addressed the mob, saying he …

Trials

The prisoners were taken to court by 118 Alabama guardsmen, armed with machine guns. It was market day in Scottsboro, and farmers were in town to sell produce and buy supplies. A crowd of thousands soon formed. Courthouse access required a permit due to the salacious nature of the testimony expected. As the Supreme Court later described this situation, "the proceedings ... took pl…

Decatur trials

When the case, by now a cause celebre, came back to Judge Hawkins, he granted the request for a change of venue. The defense had urged for a move to the city of Birmingham, Alabama, but the case was transferred to the small, rural community of Decatur. This was near homes of the alleged victims and in Ku Klux Klan territory.

Aftermath

Governor Graves had planned to pardon the prisoners in 1938 but was angered by their hostility and refusal to admit their guilt. He refused the pardons but did commute Norris's death sentence to life in prison.
Ruby Bates toured for a short while as an ILD speaker. She said she was "sorry for all the trouble that I caused them", and claimed she did it because she was …

In popular culture

• African-American poet and playwright Langston Hughes wrote about the trials in his work Scottsboro Limited.
• The novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Leeis about growing up in the Deep South in the 1930s. An important plot element concerns the father, attorney Atticus Finch, defending a Black man against a false accusation of rape. The trial in this novel is often characterized as based on the Scottsboro case. But Harper Lee said in 2005 that she had in min…