United States Supreme Court Reverses Decatur Convictions
See also: Patterson v. AlabamaThe case went back to the United States Supreme Court for a second time as Norris v. Alabama. The court reversed the convictions for a second time on the basis that blacks had been excluded from the jury pool because of their race.
Attorneys Samuel Leibowitz, Walter H. Pollak and Osmond Frankel argued the case from February 15 to February 18, 1935. Leibowitz showed the justices where the names of African Americans had been hurriedly added to the jury rolls. The Justices examined the items closely with a magnifying glass. Thomas Knight maintained that the jury process was color blind.
Because the case of Haywood Patterson had been dismissed due to the technical failure to appeal it on time, it presented different issues. Attorneys Osmond Fraenkel and Walter Pollak argued those.
On April 1, 1935, the United States Supreme Court sent the cases back a second time for retrials in Alabama.
Writing for the Court, Chief Justice Hughes observed the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution clearly forbade the states from excluding citizens from juries due solely to their race. He noted that the Court had inspected the jury rolls, chastising Judge Callahan and the Alabama Supreme Court for accepting assertions that black citizens had not been excluded. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, "something more" was needed. The Court concluded, "the motion to quash ... should have been granted". The Court ruled that it would be a great injustice to execute Patterson when Norris would receive a new trial, reasoning that Alabama should have opportunity to reexamine his case as well.
Alabama Governor Bibb Graves instructed every solicitor and judge in the state, "Whether we like the decisions or not... We must put Negroes in jury boxes. Alabama is going to observe the supreme law of America."
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