Sheppard v. Maxwell

Sheppard v. Maxwell
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued February 28, 1966 Decided June 6, 1966
Full case name	Sheppard v. Maxwell
Citations	384 U.S. 333 (more) 86 S.Ct. 1507; 16 L. Ed. 2d 600; 1966 U.S. LEXIS 1413; 1 Med. L. Rptr. 1220
Case history
Prior	Appeal from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
Holding
Sheppard did not receive a fair trial due to media interference.
Court membership
Chief Justice Earl Warren Associate Justices Hugo Black · William O. Douglas Tom C. Clark · John M. Harlan II William J. Brennan Jr. · Potter Stewart Byron White · Abe Fortas
Case opinions
Majority	Clark, joined by Warren, Douglas, Harlan, Brennan, Stewart, White, Fortas
Dissent	Black
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. I, U.S. Const. amend. VI

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Sheppard v. Maxwell

Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333 (1966), was a United States Supreme Court case that examined the rights of freedom of the press as outlined in the First Amendment when weighed against a defendant's right to a fair trial as required by the Sixth Amendment and the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In particular, the court sought to determine whether or not the defendant was denied fair trial for the second-degree murder of his wife, of which he was convicted, because of the trial judge's failure to protect Sheppard sufficiently from the massive, pervasive, and prejudicial publicity that attended his prosecution.

Background[]

After suffering a trial court conviction of second-degree murder for the bludgeoning death of his pregnant wife, Sam Sheppard challenged the verdict as the product of an unfair trial. Sheppard, who maintained his innocence of the crime, alleged that the trial judge failed to protect him from the massive, widespread, and prejudicial publicity that attended his prosecution. On appeal from an Ohio district court ruling supporting his claim, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision. When Sheppard appealed again, the Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Decision[]

Justice Clark delivered the opinion of the court:

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 persecution... 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 judgement.^[1]

See also[]

• F. Lee Bailey
• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 384
• Continuance

References[]

2. The Wrong Man: The Final Verdict on the Dr. Sam Sheppard Murder Case (Random House, 2001) ISBN 978-0679457190

External links[]

• Text of Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333 (1966) is available from: CourtListener  Findlaw  Google Scholar  Justia  Library of Congress  Oyez (oral argument audio)