Chambers v. Florida, 309 U.S. 227 (1940)^[1], was an important United States Supreme Court case dealing with the unjust convictions of three black men in the South. Court citation is a standard system used in common law countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Australia to uniquely identify the location of past court cases in special series of books called reporters. ... 1940 (MCMXL) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Seal of the Supreme Court Scotus redirects here. ... The U.S. Southern states or the South, also known colloquially as Dixie, constitute a distinctive region covering a large portion of the United States, with its own unique heritage, historical perspective, customs, musical styles, and cuisine. ...

The Case

Argued in front of the court by Thurgood Marshall, actually representing three black men convicted for the murder of a white man in Florida. Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American jurist and the first African American to serve on the United States Supreme Court. ... State nickname: Sunshine State Official languages English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Governor Jeb Bush (R) Senators Bill Nelson (D) Mel Martinez (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 22nd 170,451 km² 17. ...

The defendant Chambers, along with three other co-defendants, were four of up to forty transient black men arrested for the murder of Robert Darcy, an elderly local man, in Pompano, Florida. The murder was greeted with outrage in the community and the Broward County Sheriff's department was apparently under pressure to close the case. Chambers and the other defendants were taken to Miami for questioning, ostensibly to protect them from the mob that had formed, and then to Fort Lauderdale. Pompano is the common name of the Trachinotus genus of the Carangidae family. ... State nickname: Sunshine State Official languages English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Governor Jeb Bush (R) Senators Bill Nelson (D) Mel Martinez (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 22nd 170,451 km² 17. ... Location of county in the state of Florida County Seat Fort Lauderdale, Florida Area  - Total  - Water 3,418 km² (1,320 Population  - Total (2000)  - Density   1,623,018 520/km² (1,346/mi²) Time zone Eastern: UTC_5 Latitude Longitude 26°728 N 80°1458 W External link: Official... This article is about the city in Florida. ... Fort Lauderdale, known as the Venice of America, is a city located in Broward County, Florida. ...

It was not contested that the defendants were held without being able to see a lawyer or be arraigned for a period of a week, or that they were subject to questioning on a random basis, often alone in a room with up to ten police officers and other members of the community. In the legal climate before Miranda, they were not informed of their right to remain silent. After a week of questioning, and despite previous denials, the four co-defendants eventually confessed to the crime and were convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. Their appeals to the Florida Court of Appeals was rejected on the grounds that the jury had ruled the confessions had been given voluntarily. Holding The court held that the accused had to be made aware of their right to an attorney and their right to remain silent prior to police interrogation. ...

The Decision

The unanimous opinion of the court was, interestingly enough, delivered by Justice Hugo Black of Alabama. Hugo Black Hugo LaFayette Black (February 27, 1886 – September 25, 1971) was a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1937 - 1971). ... State nickname: Camellia State, The Heart of Dixie¹, Yellowhammer State Other U.S. States Capital Montgomery Largest city Birmingham Governor Bob Riley (R) Senators Richard Shelby (R) Jeff Sessions (R) Official language(s) English Area 52,423 mi²/135,775 km² (30th)  - Land 50,750 mi²/131,442 km²  - Water...

This was Marshall's first of many triumphs in front of the nation's highest tribunal; the Court found in favor of Chambers, et. al., and overturned their convictions. The court found that on the facts admitted by the police and sheriff's officers, the confessions had clearly been compelled and were therefore inadmissible. It marked one of the first times that the court had accepted the contention that treatment short of physical violence should result in the suppression of evidence.

It should be noted that several of the features of this case, such as not allowing the defendant to contact anyone, holding them without formal charges or arraignment, and denying them counsel during questioning were common tactics in law enforcement at the time and were eventually rejected by the court in Miranda v. Arizona. Arraignment is a common law term for the formal reading of a criminal complaint, in the presence of the defendant, to inform him of the charges against him. ... Holding The court held that the accused had to be made aware of their right to an attorney and their right to remain silent prior to police interrogation. ...

See also

• List of United States Supreme Court cases

This is a chronological list of notable cases decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. ...

External links

• ^ Full text of the decision courtesy of Findlaw.com