Go to next caseNine black youths were arrested and charged with the rape of a white woman in Scottsboro, Alabama. Powell v. Alabama was the first of the ensuing rape trials. Powell's argument addressed the lack of legal representation he was given. Upon the day of the trial, the attorney appointed to his case refused to represent him; when the judge ordered any attorney present in the courtroom to serve as the boys' legal council, they all refused. Once council willing to represent him was found, the attorney had no time to review the case, and only a half hour to meet with his client before the hearing. As a result of this inadequate defense, Powell was sentenced to die along with his eight friends. The Supreme Court reversed the verdict because of its belief that poor people facing the death penalty must be provided with council, stating "...there is a certain principals of Justice which adhere to the very idea of free government, which no [State] may disregard." This decision was extended to include all people facing criminal proceedings in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963).
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