Powell v. Alabama

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Powell v. Alabama 287 U.S. 45 (1932) was a United States Supreme Court decision which determined that in a capital trial, the defendant must be given access to counsel upon his or her own request as part of due process. The case stems from events that occurred in March, 1931. Nine African Americans - Charlie Weems, Ozie Powell, Clarence Norris, Olen Montgomery, Willie Roberson, Haywood Patterson, Andrew (Andy) Wright, Leroy (Roy) Wright and Eugene Williams, later known as the Scottsboro Boys, were accused of raping two young white women, Ruby Bates and Victoria Price. The majority opinion reversed and remanded the decisions of the Alabama Supreme Court, holding that due process had been violated. Whether or not the Powell v. Alabama decision applied to non-capital cases sparked heated debate.