Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S.45, (1932)?

Question

brief of this case,law students wanted :)

Answer 1

There is an interesting facet to this case. But first a little background.

As others have mentioned, in this case a number of black men were on trial for raping some white girls. The actual facts of that particular case are not necessarily relevant to the one you cite... suffice it to say that the trial was begun and ended in a single day and the men were all found guilty and sentenced to death.

Though many of the lower courts found no irregularities with the case, the Supreme Court did. This case addresses one of those irregularities specifically - a defendant's right to counsel. It is mentioned that the defendants were illiterate and under guard every second from their arrest to their conviction. It is pretty indisputable, therefore, that they were not able to defend themselves legally nor investigate their own case to any extent.

Normally, this might not be an issue if they had a lawyer to defend them, but the presiding judge decided not to appoint one. There were apparently several lawyers who stepped forward and offered to help, but none who would definitively declare himself to be their attourney. Nor do the records show any indication of one being ever assigned to them, even on the day of their trial. And because the trial was pushed through so rapidly, the defendants did not even have time to communicate with their families and other people who could have mustered support. Again it is pretty much indisputable that if they had been given this chance that a defence attourney would have arrived, because one did arrive once the families got word... just too late for the trial itself.

So what this case had to decide (apparently for the first time) was whether a person's RIGHT to an attourney listed in the constitution was also an OBLIGATION of the court. These defendants obviously needed an attourney but didn't get one; did that invalidate the conviction?

Fortunately, the supreme court decided that it did, though they had to dig into all the constitutions of the original colonies to provide support for this view, as well as the law of England. Thus, with this precedent, it became the judges job to MAKE SURE a defendant was actually well-defended. An assurance which lasts to this day.

Answer 2

Powell V Alabama Case Brief

Answer 3

Here's the Readers Digest version:

On March 25, 1931, two white girls were raped on a train, and three African-American suspects were arrested and arraigned. They were eventually brought to trial, convicted of rape, and sentenced to death. The case was eventually heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. Three issues were raised by the appellant: (1) The defendants were not granted a fair and impartial trial, (2) The defendants were not afforded suitable counsel for their defense, and (3) The defendants were not tried by a jury of their peers -- no African-Americans were on the jury.

From a read of the Federal Reporter, it appears the U.S. Supreme Court never got around to addressing the third issue. The Supreme Court found that, since counsel was "appointed" to the defendants on the day of the trial, and since there was some ambiguity as to whether said counsel for the defendants was properly appointed and given adequate time to prepare a defense, the trial judge erred by not ensuring the defendants were given an opportunity to acquire counsel on their own if they so wished, nor were they given an opportunity to consult counsel prior to or during their arraignment or prior to trial. As such, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the defendants were deprived of their Fourteenth Amendment due process rights, and as a result the findings and sentence were overturned and the case was remanded back to the State of Alabama for re-trial.

Answer 4

hmmm. i probably should remember this one from con. law? but it's been such a long time since those days of briefing a case in class and being soundly humiliated. if all else fails try a "canned brief" online? or at your local, neighborhood "law student supplies store" ;-)