Sheppard v. Maxwell
· Case: Sheppard v. Maxwell
· Year: 1966
· Result: 8-1, favor Sheppard
· Related constitutional issue/amendment: Amendment 5: Fair Trial & Amendment 6: Other Sixth Amendment Provisions
· Civil rights or Civil liberties: Civil Liberties
· Significance/ Precedent: The Court held that Sheppard did not receive a fair trial. The trial should have been judged in an unbiased manner. The media portrayed Sheppard in a biased manner which influenced the mindset of the jurors. Because of the media, Sheppard had an unfair trial. This case is significant because now the media is more supervised and unbiased.
· Quote from majority opinion: “This federal habeas corpus application involves the question whether Sheppard was deprived of a fair trial in his state conviction for the second-degree murder of his wife because of the trial judge's failure to protect Sheppard sufficiently from the massive, pervasive and prejudicial publicity that attended his prosecution. The United States District Court held that he was not afforded a fair trial and granted the writ subject to the State's right to put Sheppard to trial again…we have concluded that Sheppard did not receive a fair trial consistent with the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and, therefore, reverse the judgment.”
· Illustration/image: See Below
· 6-word summary: Unfair trial caused by the media.
· Year: 1966
· Result: 8-1, favor Sheppard
· Related constitutional issue/amendment: Amendment 5: Fair Trial & Amendment 6: Other Sixth Amendment Provisions
· Civil rights or Civil liberties: Civil Liberties
· Significance/ Precedent: The Court held that Sheppard did not receive a fair trial. The trial should have been judged in an unbiased manner. The media portrayed Sheppard in a biased manner which influenced the mindset of the jurors. Because of the media, Sheppard had an unfair trial. This case is significant because now the media is more supervised and unbiased.
· Quote from majority opinion: “This federal habeas corpus application involves the question whether Sheppard was deprived of a fair trial in his state conviction for the second-degree murder of his wife because of the trial judge's failure to protect Sheppard sufficiently from the massive, pervasive and prejudicial publicity that attended his prosecution. The United States District Court held that he was not afforded a fair trial and granted the writ subject to the State's right to put Sheppard to trial again…we have concluded that Sheppard did not receive a fair trial consistent with the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and, therefore, reverse the judgment.”
· Illustration/image: See Below
· 6-word summary: Unfair trial caused by the media.