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1 Monthly Bull. Int'l Jurid. Ass'n 1 (1932-1933)

handle is hein.journals/injasmb1 and id is 1 raw text is: INTERNATIONAL JURIDICAL 'ASSOCIATION MONTHLY BULLETIN VOL. I, No. I, -y MAY I~ 1932 ~33 THE SCOTTSBORO CASE On March 24, 1932, the Supreme Court of Alabama affirmed the convictions of seven of the eight Scottsboro defendants who had been convicted of rape. On April 9th a rehearing was denied. The jury had disagreed at the trial of Roy Wright, the ninth defendant, a boy of 14 years of age, not as to his guilt, but as to whether he should receive a life sentence or capital punishment. The con- viction of the boy Eugene Williams, the eighth defendant, was reversed because the Supreme Court held, in accordance with Alabama statutes, that the trial court did not have jurisdiction over a juvenile under 16. His proof showed him to be under that age, and this was not discredited. In three separate opinions written by different members of the court the three trials at which these Negroes were found guilty were sustained. The evidence was regarded as sufficient. The following points raised by counsel for the defendants, most of which were not raised at their trials, were discussed in detail and were found not to war- rant reversal: Lack of time accorded the defendants to prepare for trial; lack of opportunity to retain counsel, and inadequate representation; circumstances surrounding the trial, especi- ally the presence of militia, the crowds surrounding the court and jail, stories carried by the press, and the applause at the close of the first trial; indefiniteness of the indict- ment; severance on the application of the state of the trial of the eight defendants (Weems and Norris were tried to- gether; Patterson, separately, and the other five together); manner of the selection of the jury, and failure to accord a special venire at each trial for a capital offense, the ex- clusion of Negroes from the jury, and the failure to in- terrogate white jurors on the question of race prejudice. Chief Judge Anderson dissented in all three cases. In his opinion, rendered in the Powell case he said in part: While the Constitution guarantees to the accused a speedy trial, it is of greater importance that it should be by a fair and impartial jury, ex vi termini, a jury free from bias or prejudice, and, above all, from coercion and intimi- dation. Whether or not these defendants should have been granted a change of venue may be questionable for, as was stated by the sheriff, when a witness, they could prob- ably get as fair a trial in Jackson as any nearby county and there is no reason why this was not true. None of the (Continued on page 3) RECENT ITEMS OF INTEREST The following is a summary of some of the more impor- tant situations which come within the scope of our interests: Rights of Negroes Scottsboro. Convictions of seven of the eight defendants affirmed. (See page 1 for detailed consideration of the opinions). Walter H. Pollak, a member of the I. J. A. and a constitutional lawyer of national reputation, has been added to the staff of defense attorneys as chief coun- sel to ask review by the United States Supreme Court. White Primaries. The question whether political parties can bar Negroes from the primaries has been argued and reargued before the United States Supreme Court. The District Court of Texas and the Circuit Court of Appeals have held that such bar did not constitute state action and consequently was not forbidden by the federal constitution. (Nixon v. Condon, 34 Fed. (2d) 464; 49 Fed. (2d) 1012). Orphan Jones. This Negro charged with murder ap- pealed from a change of venue which moved the place of his trial only from one county to the next. The Court of Appeals of Maryland, although it had no jurisdiction to pass upon the question before the trial, stated, nevertheless, in unmistakable terms, that a trial in any of the counties of the eastern shore of Maryland would be improper be- cause of the hostility there to the defendant and his at- torney (Lee v. State, 157 Atl. 273). Consequently the place of the trial was moved to Baltimore County. Orphan Jones was tried there and convicted. His appeal will bring up, among other questions, whether a Negro can be tried by an exclusively white jury from which Negroes have been excluded as a matter of custom. Salisbury Lynching. A Maryland grand jury has re- ported itself unable to determine guilt in the recent Salis- bury lynching. Criminal Syndicalism Communist Party Membership Illegal. The Supreme Court of Oregon has held a member of the Communist Party guilty of a violation of the Oregon Criminal Syndi- calism Act solely because of such membership. (State vs. Boloff, 4 Pac. (2d) 326, rehearing denied 7 Pac. (2d) 775, see page 4 for detailed consideration). Ohio Criminal Syndicalism Act Unconstitutional. The decision of the Ohio State Court of Appeals holding the Ohio criminal syndicalism law unconstitutional has been appealed. MAY 1, 1932 AS 33

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