Legal Precedents

Legal Precedents

Legal precedents are decisions by an appellate court that create binding law on lower courts.

In July of 1839 a ship full of 53 African slaves known as the La Amistad was wracked with rebellion. The slaves revolted and killed the ship’s captain and two crewmen. The slaves did not know how to navigate the ship. As a result the surviving crew very cleverly sailed them around in circles. Finally they landed at Long Island outside the city of New York. Thereafter the ship was taken to New London, Connecticut. At that point there arose dispute as to whether or not the slaves were owned by the Cuban slave traders or by the US ship known as the Washington. This was the ship that had found them on Long Island. Or were they simply free men.

Cinque

The leader of the slaves was a charismatic individual by the name of Cinque. All of the slaves were from Sierra Leone. The case was eventually tried in front of a federal judge. He ruled that the Africans were in fact free and should be returned to their homeland.

The US Appeals

However the U.S. Government chose to appeal that decision. The Africans were represented at the trial court level and also on appeal by an attorney by the name of Roger Baldwin. In addition John Quincy Adams, the former President and son of another President, represented the Africans on appeal. On March 9, 1841 the U.S. Supreme Court agreed with the trial court and ruled that the Africans had been kidnapped. Therefore they were freed and returned to their homeland.

Unfortunately when Cinque returned to his homeland, he learned that his wife and children who had been left behind had been killed in his absence.

For more information on precedents see the other pages on this site.

Federal Courts Establishing Legal Precedents

On March 25, 1931 ten Scottsboro Boys acquired fame not so much because of their conduct but because of where they were on that day.  Several teenage boys, both black and white and two white girls boarded a train from Chattanooga to Memphis.  During the ride a fight broke out. Many of the white boys were tossed from the train.  It is unknown as to whether this event was due to the superior number of black boys or the superior strength of the black boys.  The black boys remained on the train. Thereafter they were arrested by a posse in Alabama.  They were taken to Scottsboro, Alabama.  Because of resulting civil unrest, the National Guard was dispatched.

On March 30 an all-white jury indicted nine of the boys for gang rape.

Speedy Trials

Complying with the “speedy trial” procedure of Alabama, at least insofar as it applied to some people, two ill-equipped attorneys were appointed to represent Clarence Norris and Charles Weems.  Neither attorney was competent to handle a capital case.  The first trial lasted a day and a half. It resulted in conviction.  There were subsequent trials that followed promptly. Each of them took less time and all resulting in convictions and death sentences.

On November 7, 1932, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the convictions relying upon the 14th Amendment.  This is one of the first times that the 14th Amendment had been applied to state behavior based upon ineffective assistance of counsel. 

New Defense Team

On retrial, two of the young men were represented by a highly skilled New York criminal defense lawyer by the name of Samuel Leibowitz.  One of his arguments on appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was that the grand jury that indicted these young men had systematically excluded black people. Indeed the names of the blacks on the grand jury rolls had been forged in order to cover tracks. 

Jury Tampering

The Supreme Court asked for proof.  Leibowitz provided it.  The Supreme Court justices reviewed the jury rolls and concluded on their own that indeed they were forgeries.  Therefore the Court reversed the convictions.

This is another example of state action being countered by federal action.

For more information on legal precedents see other pages on this site including the book authored by Brien Roche entitled Law 101.
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Legal Precedents and Landmark Decisions

There are a number of landmark decisions that over the last 150 years have been reported by various courts. These legal decisions serve an instructional purpose by teaching fundamental legal principles. Also some of them create legal precedents.

Susan B. Anthony

Susan B. Anthony was convicted for registering to vote in 1872. She maintained under the 14th Amendment she had the right to vote. Women at that point had not been given the explicit right to vote. Subsequently she was arrested for registering to vote. At her criminal trial, the trial judge directed the jury to find her guilty. On appeal, the Supreme Court ruled that a trial court may not direct a guilty verdict in a criminal trial. That rather is the province of the jury.

Anthony was successful in persuading President Grant at that time to pardon the inspectors who had allowed her to register to vote. However she was unable to convince Congress that the fine against her should be dismissed. In spite of that she never paid the fine. Call, or contact us for a free consult.

Brown v. Board of Education

The famous decision of Brown v. Board of Education was not only significant for its result but it was also significant because of the evidence that was used at trial. Two educational psychologists performed sociological testing to show there was harm suffered by children in segregated schools. The trial court admitted that evidence and that further supported the eventual conclusion of the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decision was unanimous.

For more information on precedents see the pages on Wikipedia.

Legal History-Famous Defamation Trial

A famous and perhaps the first defamation trial to occur in this country involved John Zenger. Zenger was a former indentured servant who was born in Germany. He began printing a publication known as the New York Weekly Journal in 1773.  Many of his articles were pointed at the royal governor by the name of William Cosby. Cosby was a former gambler and soldier with royal connections. He had acquired a reputation for being corrupt.

First Amendment

Cosby eventually had Zenger arrested and charged with libel. Libel or defamation at that time included any criticism of the government whether or not it was true. The jury pool was hand-picked with selected supporters of the Governor. Zenger’s attorney, a Philadelphia lawyer by the name of Andrew Hamilton, argued that the prejudiced jurors should be stricken. He prevailed on that. Hamilton admitted that his client had printed the offending remarks. Hamilton’s defense was based on the fact that the words themselves were not false or scandalous.

The jury after hearing all of the evidence deliberated only for minutes and returned a verdict of not guilty in favor of Zenger.  Jurors apparently accepted Hamilton’s argument. The statements were not false. This trial laid the foundation for what became known as the First Amendment, ensuring freedom of speech and freedom the press.