The scottsboro boys

Running Head : THE CASE OF POWELL VERSUS ALABAMA The Case of Powell versus Alabama

The United States Supreme Court decision in 1932 for Powell et al versus the State of Alabama determined that the defendant must be given access to counsel upon his or her own request in a trial with a capital offense . The decision reversed the Alabama Supreme Court ruling that the previous trial against the nine African-American males , who were later known as the Scottsboro Boys ' to have been fair . It held that the defendants ' conviction was unconstitutional since they

were denied effective assistance of cousel , which were in violation of the 14th Amendment 's Due Process ' Clause

The Scottsboro boys were tried for allegedly raping two white females in a freight car on the Southern Railroad from Chattanooga to Memphis on March 25 , 1931 . While rape was already a capital offense , the case was sensationalized because of racism - black allegedly raping white victims . The Scottsboro boys were tried and convicted to a death sentence in a state court , but the decision was disputed and was raised to the US Supreme Court . The state court 's decision was reversed by the Supreme Court (1932 ) decision stating that the failure of the trial court to give them reasonable time and opportunity to secure counsel was a clear denial of due process ' It invoked one of the post-Civil War amendments , the Fourteenth Amendment , that was first intended to secure rights for former slaves and included the Due Process clause . The Due Process clause required that counsel must be guaranteed to anyone facing the possibility of the death sentence . The right of the accused to have the assistance of counsel have already been specified in Sixth Amendment . The Supreme Court (1932 ) decision also held that due process also call for the provision of the Fifth Amendment that no person shall be held to answer for a capital . crime , unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury ' Simply put , the Fifth Amendment provides the accused to be heard , or to have a hearing , before being passed for judgement

While the Scottsboro boys were not denied counsel during their first state trial , the defense lawyers were in no way prepared or had been competent enough . The US Supreme Court Decision (1932 ) held that the failure of the trial court to give them reasonable time and opportunity to secure counsel was a clear denial of due process . But passing that and assuming their inability , even if opportunity had been given , to employ counsel , as the trial court evidently did assume , we are of opinion that , under the circumstances just stated , the necessity of counsel was so vital and imperative that the failure of the trial court to make an effective appointment of counsel was likewise a denial of due process within the meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment ' The Supreme Court provided that in a capital case , where the defendant is unable to employ counsel , and is incapable adequately of making his...