Norris v. Alabama

The Facts

In March 1931, nine Black youths were arrested and eight were convicted of the charge of rape in Jackson County, Alabama. The Alabama Supreme Court reversed the conviction of one youth, but affirmed the convictions of seven others, including Clarence Norris (Powell v. Alabama, 1932). The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case and reversed the convictions for violations of due process of law “upon the grounds that the trial court had failed in the light of the circumstances disclosed, and of the inability of the defendants at the time to obtain counsel, to make an effective appointment of counsel to aid them in preparing and presenting their defense.”

After remand to the trial court, the judge granted a motion for a change of venue and the trial was moved to Morgan County, Alabama. The defendant then made a motion to quash the indictment on the ground that Blacks had been excluded from juries in Jackson County. There was also a motion to quash the trial venire in Morgan County because of the exclusion of Blacks from juries. (The venire is the group of citizens called for possible jury duty from whom the jury will be selected.) The exclusion of Blacks from the jury process is a violation of the defendant's constitutional guarantee of due process. The trial judge denied the two motions. Norris was convicted and sentenced to death. Upon appeal to the Alabama Supreme Court, the conviction was affirmed. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case based on a federal question and granted a writ of certiorari.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in Carter v. Texas (1900), had confirmed that it is a violation of the Constitution when race is the basis for exclusion of a group of citizens from grand jury service. The court stated that