The Scottsboro Case The Criminal Justice Process: An Overview

The Alleged Crime and Trial Watch the move and take notes on the circumstances surrounding the trial

American Justice: Some Principles The adversarial system- The state prosecutor needs to convince a jury that a defendant is guilty of a specific crime beyond a reasonable doubt through the presentation of evidence The defense attorney needs to prove that the prosecutor does not have enough evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt The jury- chosen from the public in the district where the crime occurred- you may serve on a jury- not experts The judge manages procedure, instructs the jury and decides sentencing Trial courts argue facts of the case, not the law itself

Criminal Trials and Appeals Criminal defendants receive a trial that puts the burden of proving guilt on the district attorney and the state The Sixth Amendment of the United States describes due process What guarantees does the Sixth Amendment lay out for defendants? Did the Scottsboro defendants get these? Criminal defendants who are found guilty but believe they were denied rights can file an appeal The United States Supreme Court is the highest appeals court in America and decides cases on the interpretation of the Constitution

The Supreme Court Nine justices hear arguments from attorneys who represent people appealing the decisions of lower courts The law was unconstitutional The procedure was unconstitutional Justices make individual decisions and the majority decision becomes law If they agree with the person appealing, the case is re-tried Decisions have the force of law- impact future law and court decisions

The First Scottsboro Case The ILD heard about the case and organized an appeal What was the basis of this appeal? What was the result of the appeal? What opportunity did the Supreme Court in its decision of Powell v Alabama provide for the 9 convicted rapists?

Watch the Second Trial The movie offers more background on this second trial Note the arguments presented by the state and the defense’s rebuttals (responses to the charges)

Setting Aside a Verdict A trial judge has the duty to see that due process is carried out The defense attorney approached Judge Horton and asked him to “set aside the verdict” This would mean that the judge believed that the procedure leading to conviction was not proper Why did Judge Horton set aside the verdict? What would this do for the 9 convicted rapists? What did this do for Judge Horton’s career?

Third Criminal Trial The movie offers less details on this thrid trial Moved out of Horton’s Court to a court in Decatur, Alabama A much different judge What were the results of this trial? If the defense believes they were treated unfairly, what can they try?

Norris v Alabama The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees American citizens particular rights. What are they? In the case of Norris v Alabama, what did the defense argue was the problem with the procedure in Judge Callahan’s court? What did the Supreme Court decide in this case?

The Trial after Norris The state of Alabama changes its point of view and moderated a bit in the charges against the defendants Parole would occur for most of the Scottsboro defendants Clarence Norris would be the last surviving defendant and he was pardoned by Alabama Governor George Wallace in the mid 1970’s