Samuel Simon Leibowitz is one of the most famous American trial lawyers of all time. His name is bound to come up several times in a review of the landmark criminal cases of American jurisprudence. In fact, he makes an appearance in the very first episode of our true crime podcast, CLEWS. And he will make further appearances, because his name is connected to some of the most spectacular verdicts in the history of true crime.
Leibowitz is still well known for his celebrated and successful defense of the Scottsboro boys, a years-long slog to free several young African-American men falsely accused of raping two white women on a train in Alabama. While arguing the case before the Supreme Court of the United States, Leibowitz relied on his impeccable flair for the dramatic to create a moment in the courtroom for the ages. The Wikipedia entry for Leibowitz describes the amazing scene he orchestrated:
Leibowitz appeared before the U.S. Supreme Court to participate in the appeal of Patterson's and Norris's convictions on the ground that blacks were systematically excluded from Alabama's juries. When Leibowitz alleged that the names of blacks appearing on jury rolls were fraudulently added after Patterson's trial began, Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes asked Leibowitz if he could prove that allegation. Leibowitz, having anticipated this question, had caused the jury roll books to be brought to Washington. He asked a page to hand the jury rolls and a magnifying glass up to the Chief Justice. The documents were passed from Justice to Justice—a highly unusual thing to happen during oral argument in the Supreme Court—and the facial reactions of the eight Justices sitting indicated their disgust.
Leibowitz also defended Al Capone as well as a number of femmes fatales we will meet in the future.
Image: The "Scottsboro boys" with their NAACP counsel, via Wikimedia Commons.
#clews #true crime
Comments