法律英语案例

1、The Trial of Sheriff Joseph Shipp et al.: An Account1.THE FACT2.THE TRIAL AND APPEALS3.THE LYNCHING OF ED JOHNSON4.TRIAL IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATESTHE FACTThe Shipp trial has its roots in a rape that took place on a dark January evening in 1906 the St. Elmo district of Chattanooga. On

2、 January 23, 1906,Twenty-one-year old Nevada Taylor, on her way home from her bookkeeping job in downtown Chattanooga, is raped by a black man with a soft, kind voice shortly after 6:30 p.m. in St. Elmo Cemetery.Sheriff Joseph Shipp directs a search for the rapist, witnesses, and evidence. The searc

3、h turns up only a black leather strap used in the rape.January 24, 1906 Shipp offers a $50 reward to anyone providing information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the St. Elmo rapist. By the next day, the reward fund grows to $375.the St. Elmo district of Chattanooga 查塔努加圣埃尔莫区rapist 强奸犯Jan

4、uary 25, 1906 Will Hixon, a white man who worked near the rape scene, tells Shipp that he saw a black man twirling a leather strap around his finger shortly before the rape. Hixon later calls Shipp to report having seen the suspect walking toward town. Shipp eventually finds the suspect, Ed Johnson,

5、 riding on an ice truck and arrests him. Shipp questions Johnson for three hours, but Johnson claims to know nothing of the rape. Over 1,500 people gather in the courtyard in front of the jail where they assume Johnson is being held. Many in the crowd have guns or rope. The lynch mob storms the jail

6、. Tennessee Governor Cox orders the National Guard to protect the jail, but it is heavily damaged. Johnson, who had been moved to Nashville earlier in the day out of a concern that he might be lynched, is unharmed. Tennessee 田纳西州 Nashville 纳什维尔 jail 监狱THE TRIAL AND APPEALSFebruary 6, 1906 Johnson is

7、 returned under a heavily-armed guard to Chattanooga for the start of his trial. Nevada Taylor testifies, identifying Johnson as her attacker. Will Hixon tells the jury, This defendant here is the Negro I saw with a strap in his hand. Johnson testifies that he was at the Last Chance Saloon at the ti

8、me of the rape, a claim supported by a number of saloon patrons.February 7, 1906 The defense calls 17 additional witnesses, then rests.February 8, 1906 Taylor testifies for a second time. Asked by a juror whether she can state positively that this is the Negro, Taylor answers, I will not swear that

9、he is the man, but I believe he is the Negro who assaulted me. A juror yells, If I could get at him, Id tear his heart out right now. Closing arguments are delivered and the case goes to the jury.February 9, 1906 After seven hours of deliberation, the jury returns its verdict of Guilty. Judge McReyn

10、olds sentences Johnson to be hanged on March 13additional 额外assaulted 殴打 juror 陪审员deliberation 审议February 12, 1906 Johnsons attorneys tell Judge McReynolds they plan to appealOn March 3， 1906， the Tennessee Supreme Court， without a dissenting vote， turned down Johnsons request for a new trial. Writi

11、ng for the Court， Chief Justice W. D. Beard wrote， We have given the technical record a most scrutinizing inspection to see if serious errors were there to be discovered， but have been unable to find any. Sheriff Shipp ordered his deputies to began stretching the inch thick rope that would be used t

12、o hang Johnson on March 13.After a series of appeals ,Judge Clark announced that he would issue his decision later that evening. Shortly before 1：00 a.m.， the judge returned to his courtroom. Judge Clark agreed that there might have been serious flaws in Johnsons trial， but he ruled that the Sixth A

13、mendments guarantee of a fair trial did not apply in state court trials. He rejected Johnsons equal protection claim as well. In a small victory for the defense， however， Clark postponed Johnsons hanging for ten days （later reduced， in a concession to angered state officials， to seven days） to allow

14、 time for his decision to be appealed to the United States Supreme Court.attorneys 律师deputies 人大代表stretching 拉伸concession 让步THE LYNCHING OF ED JOHNSONon March 19, 1906 About 8:00 p. m., a group of men carrying guns approach the jail where Ed Johnson is being held. The mob begins an attack on the jai

15、l. They batter their way through one door after another until they get into Johnsons cell. Johnson closes his eyes and recites the 23rd Psalm. At 11:20, the thugs finally get to Johnson, throw a rope over his neck and march him outside to the cheers of the mob. Johnson is paraded six blocks to the W

16、alnut Street Bridge. His last words before he is swung by rope over the Tennessee River are God bless you all. I am innocent.March 20, 1906 Blacks in Chattanooga protest the lynching of Ed Johnson by staying home from work. The mayor orders all saloons closed and 200 men are deputized. In Washington

17、, justices of the Supreme Court meet to discuss what might be done about the lynching. Justice Harlan says, the mandate of the Supreme Court has for the first time in the history of the country been openly defied by a community. Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes tells reporters, In all likelihood, this

18、was a case of an innocent man improperly branded a guilty brute and condemned to die from the start. President Theodore Roosevelt also condemned the lynching, calling it contemptuous of the Court. paraded 游街示众 innocent 无辜brute 畜生condemned 谴责contemptuous 轻视TRIAL IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STA

19、TES A month later， Attorney General Moody met with Chief Justice Fuller and Justice Harlan. An hour of debate produced an historic agreement： the Chattanooga conspirators would be tried by the Court for criminal contempt. It would be the firstand， to date， the onlycriminal trial in the history of th

20、e United States Supreme Court. The Attorney General agreed to file charges with the clerk of the Supreme Court. The Justice Department， rather than the Court （as was at one time discussed）， would lead the prosecution. On May 28， 1906， the Justice Department filed papers accusing twenty-seven Chattan

21、ooga residents of conspiring to lynch and murder Ed Johnson. Named in the papers were Sheriff Joseph Shipp and eight of his deputies.conspirators 阴谋家prosecution控告On November 15， 1909， Sheriff Shipp and the other convicted defendants stood before the nine justices of the Supreme Court to receive their sentences. Justice Fuller announced： You， Sheriff Joseph F. Shipp， Jeremiah Gibson， Luther Williams， Nick Nolan， Henry Padgett， and William Mayes， are before this court on an atta