[Trump’s legal team cited the landmark Supreme Court decision
related to the Scottsboro case, arguing that special counsel Jack
Smith wasn’t allowing sufficient time for trial preparation. ]
[[link removed]]

TRUMP’S USE OF SCOTTSBORO BOYS CASE COMPARISON RAISES EYEBROWS AND
IRE OF JUDGE  
[[link removed]]


 

Stacy M. Brown
September 30, 2023
Washington Informer
[[link removed]]


*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

_ Trump’s legal team cited the landmark Supreme Court decision
related to the Scottsboro case, arguing that special counsel Jack
Smith wasn’t allowing sufficient time for trial preparation.  _

Donald Trump, Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0)

 

Former President Donald Trump, known for his gaslighting statements
and actions to fuel the fire of racism, drew criticism from a federal
judge for invoking the 1931 Scottsboro Boys case in a bid to delay his
upcoming election interference trial.

Trump’s legal team cited the landmark Supreme Court decision related
to the Scottsboro case, arguing that special counsel Jack Smith
wasn’t allowing sufficient time for trial preparation. 

U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan swiftly rejected the comparison and
scheduled Trump’s trial for March 2024, one day before Super
Tuesday. The judge emphasized that the case’s timeline did not
reflect undue haste and pointed out Trump’s access to a capable
legal team and ample resources for a thorough defense. 

Trump currently faces four charges in the election interference case,
including conspiring to defraud the United States and obstructing an
official proceeding—charges previously filed against those involved
in the January 6, 2021, Capitol breach. 

He has pleaded not guilty. 

The 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner currently faces 91 felony
charges in four jurisdictions – New York, Washington, Florida, and
Georgia – most related to his loss to Joe Biden in 2020. If
convicted on all counts, Trump could receive a more than 800-year
prison sentence. Due to the complexity of the election interference
case in Washington, John Lauro, Trump’s attorney, expressed concern
that the trial date would compromise the former president’s right to
effective legal counsel. 

But Chutkan scolded the lawyers, and the twice impeached, four-times
indicted Trump, whom earlier this year a civil jury found liable for
sexual assault. She cited the Supreme Court’s Scottsboro Boys ruling
at the time, saying, “The court noted that a sizable crowd greeted
the defendants at Scottsboro after their arrest and that the
community’s attitude was one of great hostility. The defendants’
trials began six days after indictment. The Supreme Court found that
there was a clear denial of due process because the trial court failed
to give the defendants’ reasonable time and opportunity to secure
counsel, and the defendants were incapable of adequately making their
own defense.” 

Chutkan continued: “Trump is represented by a team of zealous,
experienced attorneys and has the resources necessary to efficiently
review the discovery and investigate. I have seen many cases unduly
delayed because a defendant lacks adequate representation or cannot
properly review discovery because they are detained. That is not the
case here.” 

The Scottsboro Boys rape cases represent the dark racist part of
American history where nine Black youths were falsely accused of
raping two white women in 1931 while traveling on a train near
Scottsboro, Alabama. The accusations led to trials with all-white
juries. Clarence Norris, Charlie Weems, Haywood Patterson, Olen
Montgomery, Ozie Powell, Willie Roberson, Eugene Williams, and Andy
Wright were all tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. Another
defendant, Roy Wright, saw his trial end in a mistrial when some
jurors held out for a death sentence even though the prosecution asked
for life imprisonment. 

Over the years, appeals and retrials took place, eventually leading to
the 1932 Supreme Court ruling in Powell v. Alabama, which stressed the
importance of granting defendants sufficient time for legal counsel
and trial preparation. This ruling and the 1935 Supreme Court case
Norris v. Alabama played a crucial role in advancing the cause of
racially diverse juries. 

Alabama eventually dropped rape charges against five of the Scottsboro
Boys, and Norris, one of the accused, received a posthumous pardon
from Gov. George Wallace in 1976. In 2013, the Alabama Board of
Pardons and Paroles issued posthumous pardons to the three Scottsboro
Boys who had not previously received or had their convictions
overturned. 

“It was stunningly stupid,” retired California Superior Court
Judge LaDoris Hazzard Cordell told CNN of Trump invoking the
Scottsboro Boys case. “Because one, the comparison is ridiculous.
But second, if you want to alienate a judge in the case, this was
exactly what to do. A female judge, a Black judge, and to talk about
that case and compare it to Trump’s case was absurd.”

_Stacy M. Brown is a senior writer for The Washington Informer and the
senior national correspondent for the Black Press of America. Stacy
has more than 25 years of journalism experience and has
authored... More by Stacy M. Brown
[[link removed]]_

_About The Washington Informer
[[link removed]]: We are THE WASHINGTON
INFORMER, a Black, woman-owned multimedia news organization serving
the African-Americans in the DMV. We are three generations strong —
that’s 57 years of delivering accurate, timely, need-to-know
information that has built an established trust among our audience._

* Tanya Chutkan
[[link removed]]
* Donald Trump
[[link removed]]
* Scottsboro Nine
[[link removed]]

*
[[link removed]]
*
[[link removed]]
*
*
[[link removed]]

 

 

 

INTERPRET THE WORLD AND CHANGE IT

 

 

Submit via web
[[link removed]]

Submit via email
Frequently asked questions
[[link removed]]

Manage subscription
[[link removed]]

Visit xxxxxx.org
[[link removed]]

Twitter [[link removed]]

Facebook [[link removed]]

 




[link removed]

To unsubscribe, click the following link:
[link removed]