Scottsboro Boys - Appeal To United States Supreme Court

Appeal To United States Supreme Court

The case went to the United States Supreme Court on October 10, 1932, amidst tight security. The ILD retained Walter Pollak to handle the appeal. Alabama Attorney General Thomas Knight, Jr. represented the State.

Pollak argued that the defendants had been denied due process first due to the mob atmosphere, second, because of the strange attorney appointment and poor performance at trial. Last, he argued that African Americans were systematically excluded from jury duty contrary to the Fourteenth Amendment.

Knight countered that there had been no mob atmosphere at the trial, and pointed to the finding by the Alabama Supreme Court that the trial had been fair and representation "able". He told the Court that he had "no apologies" to make.

In a landmark decision, the United States Supreme Court reversed the convictions on the ground that the due process clause of the United States Constitution guarantees the effective assistance of counsel at a criminal trial. In an opinion written by Associate Justice George Sutherland, the Court found the defendants had been denied effective counsel. Chief Justice Anderson's previous dissent was quoted repeatedly in this decision.

The Court pointedly did not fault Moody and Roddy for lack of an effective defense, noting that both had told Judge Hawkins that they had not had time to prepare their cases. The problem was instead with the way Judge Hawkins "immediately hurried to trial".

This victory did not find the Scottsboro defendants innocent, ruling only that procedures violated their rights to due process under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. The Supreme Court sent the case back to Judge Hawkins for a retrial.