Preface — Effective Assistance of Counsel for the Indigent Criminal Defendant: Has the Promise Been Fulfilled
Introduction
In 1931, nine black youths were accused of raping two white women on a train bound for Scottsboro, Alabama. At the time, rape was a capital crime inAlabama. In that state, as in the rest of the Deep South, black men charged with raping white women were sure to evoke a vicious response from the dominant, racist, white society. The so-called “Scottsboro Boys” were no exception.
In this highly charged atmosphere, the Scottsboro defendants, some of whom were in their early teens, were brought to trial before an all-white jury.Because Alabama did not provide legal assistance to indigent criminal defend-ants, they were also unrepresented by legal counsel. After separate one-day trials, all of the defendants were found guilty and sentenced to death.
Suggested Reading
Judicial Fact-Finding in the Wake of Alleyne
This article argues Allyene signals a shift in the availability of constitutional challenges in cases where sentencing factors are particularly important.
Voters Strike Back: Litigating against Modern Voter Intimidation
Voting rights advocates should explore section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act as a vehicle to combat voter intimidation.
Addressing All Heads of the Hydra: Reframing Safeguards for Mentally Impaired Detainees in Immigration Removal Proceedings
DOJ guidance for mentally impaired detainees in immigration removal proceedings should be amended to provide counsel at earlier signs of incompetence.
Reopening Ferguson and Rethinking Civil Rights Prosecutions
Paul Savoy¥ A deeply flawed eighty-six page legal memorandum revealed the rationale for the U.S. Justice Department’s March 2015 decision not to prosecute Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. The Article rejects the Department’s contention that prosecution was not permitted by