|
''Sacher v. United States'', 343 U.S. 1 (1952), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld the convictions of five attorneys for contempt of court.〔Belknap (1994), p 225.〕 == Background == (詳細はSmith Act trial of 1949 were familiar with leftist causes and personally supported the defendants' rights to espouse communist views. They were Abraham Isserman, George W. Crockett, Jr., Richard Gladstein, Harry Sacher, and Louis F. McCabe.〔Sabin, p 42. Attorney Maurice Sugar participated in an advisory role.〕〔"(Communist Trial Ends with 11 Guilty )", ''Life'', October 24, 1949, p 31.〕 Defendant Eugene Dennis represented himself. The ACLU was dominated by anti-communist leaders during the 1940s, and did not enthusiastically support persons indicted under the Smith Act. However, the ACLU did provide an ''amicus'' brief for the Foley Square defendants, endorsing a motion for dismissal.〔Walker, pp 185–187. However, many local affiliates of the ACLU supported communist defendants.〕 The defense deliberately antagonized the judge by making a large number of objections and motions,〔Morgan, p 314. Sabin, p 41.〕 which led to numerous bitter engagements between the attorneys and judge Medina.〔Redish, p 82. Sabin, p 46.〕 Out of the chaos, an atmosphere of "mutual hostility" arose between the judge and attorneys.〔Sabin, p 46.〕 Medina came to believe that the defense attorneys were using the trial as an opportunity to publicize communist propaganda, and that they deliberately disrupted the trial using any means they could.〔Redish, p 82.〕 Judge Medina attempted to maintain order by removing defendants who were out of order. In the course of the trial, Medina sent five of the defendants to jail for outbursts, including Hall because he shouted "I've heard more law in a Kangaroo court", and Winstonan African Americanfor shouting "more than five thousand Negroes have been lynched in this country".〔Sabin, pp 46–47. Sabin writes that only four defendants were cited. Morgan, p 315 (Morgan erroneously quotes Winston as saying 500the correct quote is 5,000). Martelle, p 175.〕 Several times in July and August, the judge held defense attorneys in contempt of court, and told them their punishment would be meted out upon conclusion of the trial.〔Martelle, p 190.〕 Legal scholar Michal Belknap writes that Medina was "unfriendly" to the defense, and that "there is reason to believe that Medina was biased against the defendants", citing a statement Medina made during pretrial activity: "If we let them do that sort of thing (the trial start ), they'll destroy the government".〔Belknap (1994), p 212. On page 220 Belknap gives more assertions of Medina's bias.〕 Medina's hostility towards the defense may have been exacerbated by the fact that another federal judge had recently died of a heart attack during a similar trial involving the Smith Act;〔Belknap (2001), p 860.〕〔 and Medina came to believe that the defense was deliberately trying to provoke him with the goal of achieving a mistrial.〔Belknap (1994), p 220.〕 Belknap asserts that the defendants could "insist with complete justification that they were the targets of a political prosecution", and that "rather than attempting to prove eleven individuals guilty of criminal conduct, the prosecution mounted an attack on the CPUSA."〔Belknap (1994), p 214.〕 Legal scholar Arthur Sabin writes that one of the jurors stated that "we must fight communism to the death" and spoke of his desire to "hang those Commies".〔Walker, p 185. Sabin, pp 44–45. Juror quoted by Sabin is novelist Russell Janney. See also Martelle, pp 189–193.〕 Immediately after the jury rendered a verdict, Medina turned to the defense attorneys saying he had some "unfinished business" and he held them in contempt of court, and sentenced all of themincluding future Congressman George W. Crockett, Jr.to jail terms ranging from 30 days to six months.〔〔Defendant Dennis, acting as his own attorney during the 1949 trial, also received a six-month contempt sentence. Attorney Maurice Sugar, who participated in an advisory role, was not cited for contempt.〕 The attorneys had no opportunity to respond, and were immediately handcuffed and led to jail.〔Sabin, p 47.〕〔Some of the contempt sentences were postponed pending appeal; for instance, Crockett served four months in an Ashland, Kentucky Federal prison in 1952. See Smith, Jessie Carney, ''Notable Black American Men, Volume 1'', Gale, 1998, p 236, ISBN 978-0-7876-0763-0.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sacher v. United States」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|