What was the legal significance of the case Powell vs Alabama?

Answer 1

Powell v. Alabama 287 U.S. 45 (1932) was a United States Supreme Court decision which determined that in a trial for a capital offense (death sentence), the defendant has to be given access to counsel upon their own request. This was a _______ of a court decision because it help black folks and other underprivleged brothers and sisters.

Answer 2

In a 7-2 decision delivered on November 7, 1932, the Court reversed all seven convictions. Justice George Sutherland, writing for the majority, began the opinion by recounting the procedural history of the case and reciting the paltry and sometimes inaccurate record of the case. Sutherland noted that the record indicated that the defendants had been represented by counsel at the arraignment, "[b]ut no counsel having been employed … the record does not disclose when, or under what circumstances, an appointment of counsel was made, or who was appointed." Sutherland also referred to the mob surrounding the defendants. According to Sutherland, "[I]t does not appear that the defendants were seriously threatened with … mob violence; but it does appear that the attitude of the community was one of great hostility." Although the intimidating atmosphere played a part in the opinion, the Supreme Court was more concerned with the procedures employed by the trial court.