United States v. Shipp
| United States v. Shipp | |
|---|---|
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| Argued December 4–5, 1906 Decided December 24, 1906 |
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| Full case name | United States v. John F. Shipp, et al. |
| Citations | 203 U.S. 563 (more)
27 S.Ct. 165
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| Holding | |
| That it was not a party in any sense that would create a conflict of interest, in that members of the court were not affected by Shipp's actions in any way in their persons and thus they were not "interested parties" in any sense which would affect their competence with regard to the case. | |
| Court membership | |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Holmes, joined by Fuller, Harlan, White, Brewer, Day, Peckham, McKenna |
| Moody took no part in the consideration or decision of the case. | |
United States v. Shipp, 203 U.S. 563, was a ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States with regard to events surrounding a lynching in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is, to this day, the only Supreme Court criminal trial in its history.
Ed Johnson, a black man, had been convicted in Hamilton County, Tennessee of the rape of a white woman on February 11, 1906 and sentenced to death. On March 3, 1906, Johnson filed a writ of habeas corpus, alleging that his constitutional rights had been violated. Specifically, he alleged that all blacks had been systematically excluded from both the grand jury considering the original indictment against him and the trial jury considering his case. He further argued that he had been substantively denied the right to counsel, as his lawyer had been too intimidated by the threats of mob violence to file motions for a change of venue, a continuance, or a new trial, all of which could be reasonably expected under the circumstances, meaning that he (Johnson) was, in effect, about to be deprived of his life without due process.
Johnson's petition was initially denied on March 10, 1906, and he was remanded to the custody of Hamilton County Sheriff Joseph F. Shipp, with the stipulation that Johnson be given 10 days to file further appeals. His appeal to the Supreme Court was granted by Justice Harlan on March 17, and subsequently by the entire court on March 19. However, despite being advised of this ruling by telegram on that date, and the case and the ruling being given full coverage by Chattanooga's evening newspapers that day, the case purported that Shipp and his chief jailer nonetheless allowed a mob to enter the Hamilton County Jail and to lynch Johnson on the city's Walnut Street Bridge.
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