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Works Cited

Bender, David L. Civil Liberties. San Diego: Greenhaven, n.d. Print. Opposing

Viewpoints.

"Dr. Sam Shepppard Trials." University of Missouri-Kansas City. UMKC, n.d. Web.

19 Mar. 2015. <http://www.law2.umkc.ed>.

Due, Paul H. "Prejudicial Publicity Versus the Rights of the Accused."

Digital Commons. LSU, June 1966. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.

<http://digitalcommons.law.lsu.edu>.

Farish, Leah. The First Amenment. Berkeley Heights: Enslow, n.d. Print. The

Constitution.

"Sheppard v. Maxwell (1966-490)." Cleveland Memory. Cleeveland State University

Libraries, n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2015. <http://www.clevelandmemory.org>.

Influence on the Future (cont.)

  • After Samuel Sheppard was acquitted, he married Colleen Strickland.
  • Colleen Strickland's father, George Strickland, was a professional wrestler.
  • Colleen got Sam interested in wrestling, and he debuted in wrestling in 1969 under the name Sam "The Killer" Sheppard.
  • Sam developed the superb submissive hold called the "mandible claw"
  • The mandible claw is a move in which the wrestler places his middle and ring fingers into the opponent's mouth, sliding them under the tongue and jabbing into the soft tissue found at the bottom of the mouth. The thumb and/or palm of the same hand is placed under the jaw, and pressure is applied downward by the middle and ring fingers while the thumb/palm forces the jaw upwards.
  • It can be extremely painful.
  • Later, wrestler Mick Foley began to used the hold, and made it very popular.
  • Mick Foley would place a sock puppet on his hand, which was named "Mr. Socko" before performing this maneuver, becoming his best move and finisher.
  • On April 6th, 2013 Mick Foley was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
  • Therefore, if Sheppard wasn't acquitted, the mandible claw would have never been invented, and Mick Foley would not have made it to the WWE Hall of Fame without his finisher.

First Amendment Argument

  • Protects the freedom of the press to publish what they see fit
  • Justice Robert Jackson, West Virginia v. Barnette (1943- Flag Salute): "If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, or religion."
  • Whitney v. California (1927-Communism) Justice Louis Brandeis, "Freedom to think as you as you will and to speak as you think are means indispensable to the discovery and spread of political truth."

Arguments Against Sheppard

  • His first motion for a retrial was denied by the Eighth District Ohio Court of Appeals
  • 1956: The Ohio Supreme Court affirms Sheppard's conviction
  • March 4, 1965: The Sixth Circuit Court votes against Judge Weinman's decision to throw out Sheppard's conviction
  • Proper procedures were taken (voir dire) to ensure that a fair jury was chosen

Significance and Influences on the Future

  • Sheppard claimed that the trial was unfair because the media coverage interfered with his right to a fair trial.
  • Sheppard stated that the news reporters were in close proximity to him, and were asking him irrelevant questions that influenced the public's opinion.
  • He claimed that all of these issues violated his Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial.
  • Previous to this case, there were few restrictions on media coverage in the court room.
  • Now, if a judge feels that the media coverage is swaying opinions in a court room, or is too prominent in the case, the trial can be postponed or moved to a different place.
  • Some media coverage can be present, because it is protected under the freedom of speech in the First Amendment, however it cannot sway the courts opinions as a trial must be based off evidence alone.
  • "Gag Orders" created: Gentile v. State Bar of Nevada (lawyers have to follow gag orders), Butterworth v. Smith (grand jury witnesses must remain silent)

Background

Sheppard's Argument

Accusations Against Sheppard

  • When:1965
  • Where: Southern District Court of Ohio Eastern Decision
  • Who: Dr. Samuel Sheppard
  • Why: Appealing his guilty verdict of murder on grounds of prejudicial publicity
  • First Amendment (Freedom of Press) vs. Fifth and Sixth Amendment Rights
  • Petitioner's wife bludgeoned to death on July 4, 1954 (Cleveland, Ohio)
  • July 21, 1954: the Cleveland Press pressures the local coroner to begin investigation
  • July 30, 1954: The Cleveland Press headlines a story, "WHY ISN'T SAM SHEPPARD IN JAIL?"
  • August 17, 1954: Grand jury indites him for 1st degree murder and he is re-arrested
  • December 21, 1954: Found guilty
  • The "carnival atmosphere" of the trial put more pressure on the jury.
  • The judge would not allow a change of location.
  • The press had already decided that he was guilty, and wrote it all over the newspapers, which the jury could not possibly miss, making them biased.
  • Communication between the jury and their families was allowed, which should have been forbidden.
  • All of these instances go against the 5th and 6th Amendments, as it was impossible for Sheppard to have a fair trial by an impartial jury.

Sheppard v. Maxwell

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