POLI 4021 Chapter : Brief 13
Document Summary
Facts: nine black men, ages 12-20, were arrested on march 25, 1931, after a fight broke out between them and white men on a freight train. Two white women claimed the nine black men had raped them. Their trial was set for six days after their indictment and they had no lawyer prior to trial. Tennessee lawyer stephen r. roddy appeared the day of the trial to represent them, having nothing prepared and having no knowledge of sentenced to death. Eight of the nine boys were found guilty and. The trial judge had appointed all the members of the bar and was unsure if counsel would even show up to represent these boys. Not only was this the case, but also the counsel had not even met the boys until the morning of the trial, deeming them ineffective. There was a clear denial of the due process clause of the fourteenth amendment.
