181 (N.D.Ala.1968); Seals v. State, 282 Ala. 586, 213 So. Young v. State, 469 So. 2d 821 (1969); Morton v. State, 338 So. Jay Glass retired as Chief Deputy Coroner following 35 years of service with the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner Office. Except where inherently prejudicial publicity has so saturated the community as to have a probable impact upon the prospective jurors, the trial court's main responsibility with regard to allegedly prejudicial pre-trial publicity is to determine whether, as the result of such publicity, it is reasonably unlikely that the defendant can secure a fair and impartial trial. 2d 877 (Ala.1979). Albert Eugene Ballard, 46, and two days before being eligible to retire, saw a man walking on the sidewalk who fit the general description of the suspect. It is appellant's contention that some value must be shown before the offense of robbery can be made out. I totally agree! ', Richardson v. State, 476 So. In proposing steps for implementation of its standards, the American Bar Association suggests that "a statutory requirement of `good moral character' may be interpreted to mean no felony conviction or the restoration of civil rights following such a conviction." Thereafter, the trial judge specifically denied the defense counsel's motion to strike the venire, and no ruling was made on the defense counsel's request that he be allowed to interview the individual who conducted the preliminary voir dire. 2d 877 (Ala.1979); Scruggs v. State, 359 So.2d *296 836, 842 (Ala.Cr.App. In the week leading up to his murder, Mobile had become a hotbed of Klan activity due to the trial of Josephus Anderson, a Black man accused of killing a white police officer during an armed. Thus, the appellant claims that this tally should raise a reasonable doubt as to the validity of the jury verdict. Cumbo v. State, 368 So. 2d 843 (Ala.1978). Upon calling him over to his car, Anderson leaned into the vehicle and shot Ballard several times and then ran away. [1] "`The registrars' expert estimated that by January 1903 182 had disfranchised approximately ten times as many blacks as whites. The payout by the United Klans of America bankrupted the organization. That put it right in the Mobile KKKs faces when mistrial(s) occurred. Husband was kkk, he and 20 other klansmans.did to much evil.acts ..he ended up killimg my mother and has spent 31 years on death row @holman .. A jury, on Feb. 1, found Josephus Anderson, 27, guilty of perjury for lying at an evidentiary hearing where he recanted the testimony he made during Willie Anderson II's, trial in October 2015 . Skip Ancestry main menu Main Menu. "Poole, supra, at 544. There he observed appellant lying on the ground in front of the motel swimming pool. Ex parte Anderson, 457 So. (Emphasis added in Poole.) During the voir dire, the trial judge asked, "Is there anyone here that's lost the right to vote for reason of being convicted of a crimeany serious felony or criminal offense involving moral turpitude?" She stated that he was wearing light blue denim blue jeans, a knit pullover with contrasting blue and white stripes and a beige wool cap with a small bill on the front. dsher@amsher.com. 2d 198, at 204 (1970), quoting Mitchell v. Johnson, 250 F. Supp. I am proud to have been a part of that history, for good and for bad. See e.g. See also Jackson v. State, 516 So. The body was left hanging from a tree in a mixed-race neighborhood in Mobile. As the State points out in its brief, the Alabama Supreme Court's decision in Anderson is binding on this court. The measure of impropriety which must be shown by an appellant to hold the court in error for denial of a motion for continuance of a criminal trial is gross abuse. Instead, he was killed because the Klan members were furious that the second trial of Josephus Anderson, a Black man accused of murdering a white policeman, had been declared a mistrial when. 4, 325 So. denied, 359 So. After a hearing on March 25, 1982, said motion was denied. 554, 556 (1936). Thanks T.K.! 2d 368 (1970). While committing a robbery, Josephus Anderson murdered a white police officer in Birmingham, Alabama. 47 Am.Jur.2d Jury 106 (1969). An example of such a profound delayed effect with far-reaching social ramifications would have its origin in downtown Birmingham on the afternoon of November 29th, 1979 in front of Newberrys in the 200 block of 20th Street North. App.1984) (wherein a juror was observed talking to the victim during a recess). Two additional jurors who stated they had no previous knowledge of the case replaced those jurors who were struck for cause. This court denied the petition and that decision was affirmed by the Alabama Supreme Court. No mention is made as to disfranchisement on these grounds. Both concluded that Michael Donald was hung as a result of a drug deal gone bad. In 1984, the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the United Klans of America. In 1987, Donalds mother, Beulah Mae Donald, brought a wrongful death lawsuit against the United Klans of America. *294 Douglas H. Scofield and William N. Clark, Birmingham, for appellant. In Alabama, "the statutory prerequisite to jury service requiring the absence of any conviction of an offense involving moral turpitude is an absolute" and mandates disqualification if a prospective juror falls in that category. . In Childersburg, AL, my mothers. 2d 435 (Ala.Cr.App. Officer Newfield stated that he observed appellant walking down 16th Street toward him and turn left on Second Alley. The defense counsel introduced newspaper articles to support his claim. There is also no merit to the appellant's claim that he should have been granted a mistrial because of the relationship between Lula White and the victim's widow. Although 182 is racially neutral on its face, applying equally to anyone convicted of one of the named crimes or categories of crimes, the appellee was able to prove a racially discriminatory impact. See also Dobbins v. State, supra. Sign up for our free summaries and get the latest delivered directly to you. Carter v. Jury Comm'n, 396 U.S. 320, 90 S. Ct. 518, 24 L. Ed. The prosecution of Josephus Anderson for the murder of Officer Ballard would then commence a long 5 1/2 year process which would include four trials, the first three of which would end in hung juries. 2d 1083, 1089 (Ala.Cr. Gen., for appellee. The remaining jurors who had some knowledge of the case indicated that they could disregard their recollection and base their verdict on the testimony they heard at trial. Joseph Anderson . Alabama Supreme Court 83-316. The Christmas shopping rush was on when a call went out over the police radio reporting an armed robbery at a savings and loan branch and which included a description of a Black male suspect. In Hunter v. Underwood, supra, the United States Supreme Court held that Article VIII, Section 182, of the Alabama Constitution of 1901, which provides for the disfranchisement of persons convicted of certain enumerated felonies and misdemeanors, including "any crime involving moral turpitude," served to discriminate against blacks; thus it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Lord, help me. The record indicates that following Mrs. White's testimony, as she was leaving the courtroom, she turned to the victim's widow, waved and stated, "Bye-bye." We disagree. Post Views: 1,834. In Hicks this Court *299 recently enunciated several factors which are to be considered in determining whether an accused was deprived of his right to compulsory process by denial of a motion for continuance: "`"[T]he diligence of the defense in interviewing witnesses and procuring their presence, the probability of procuring their testimony within a reasonable time, the specificity with which the defense is able to describe their expected knowledge or testimony, the degree to which such testimony is expected to be favorable to the accused, and the unique or cumulative nature of the testimony.". 2d at 230. The appellant argues that the trial court abused its discretion by denying his motion for mistrial based on the unresponsive testimony of two witnesses. 2d 871, 874 (Ala.Cr.App.1978), cert. Joseph Anderson in Alabama 269 people named Joseph Anderson found in Mobile, Huntsville and 12 other cities. Hes past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP). Two of the fourteen jurors were excused for cause when they stated they could not disregard the pretrial publicity. Example: Yes, I would like to receive emails from ComebackTown. He is the author of the recently published book "Life and Death in the Magic City. Similarly, in the case at bar, the record indicates that the same attorney who represents the appellant on this appeal also represented him during his third trial, and has been acting as his attorney at least since 1979. 460, 301 So. Officer Middleton testified that he saw the fleeing man pull out a gun so he jumped out of the patrol car. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Sheppard v. Maxwell, 384 U.S. 333, *307 86 S. Ct. 1507, 16 L. Ed. 2d 1014 (Ala.Cr.App.1982). In retrospect, these unforeseen consequences can be indirectly traced back to that incident years before when Josephus Anderson survived being shot multiple times by police officers in a Birmingham alley and which, in the end, would set a precedent for successful civil rights lawsuits against other racist hate groups. 47 Am.Jur.2d Jury 102 (1969). denied, 402 U.S. 976, 91 S. Ct. 1680, 29 L. Ed. Willcutt v. State, 284 Ala. 547, 226 So. Get free summaries of new Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals opinions delivered to your inbox! BTW, multiple cities have a similar history, but they are looking forward to developing a better world for their citizens. 2d 787 (Ala.1986). PS Jay, congratulations on your book! The evidence must be considered in the light most favorable to the prosecution. Johnson v. State, 406 So. (Opt out at any time). On the night of March 21, 1981, members of Unit 900 of the United Klans of America burned a large cross in front of the Mobile County courthouse. denied, 416 U.S. 973, 94 S. Ct. 1998, 40 L. Ed. Even assuming that the statute, Section 12-16-60(a)(4), was applied and that this issue is preserved despite the defense counsel's failure to file a written motion to quash the venire, see Chambliss v. State, 373 So. In addition to the arguments already raised, the appellant claims that the trial court erred in denying his motion for continuance on the basis of newly discovered witnesses and on the basis of pre-trial publicity; in failing to grant his motion for mistrial on the basis of the relationship between Lula White and the victim's widow; in the denial of his motion for a mistrial after repeated violations of the trial court's order to prohibit filming of the jury by the news media. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Clearly, these facts were undisputed. She said that she then heard three shots and saw the man ran down an alley. Gast v. State, 232 Ala. 307, 310, 167 So. Ms. Hill stated that the black male remained in the bank for six minutes. Were we to find prejudice in this case, we would have to totally disregard the presumption in favor of the trial court's ruling and resort to speculation. 2d 167 (Ala.Cr.App. 21-201, Code of Arizona, which requires that "[e]very juror, grand and trial, shall be an elector in the county." Charles A. Graddick, Atty. He again argues that, because of pretrial publicity some two months prior to his trial, the trial should have been postponed to a later date. BOWEN, Presiding Judge. 6 records for Josephus Anderson. During the defense counsel's examination of Mrs. White concerning this statement, she explained that she had not known the widow prior to the trial. Great read. The black male was described as having short hair and a moustache and carrying a silver revolver with a brown handle. (Citations omitted.) 2d 1133, 1134 (Ala.Cr.App.1985). Section 12-16-60, Code of Alabama (1975), as amended in 1978, reads in pertinent part: The constitutionality of this subsection and its mandatory application to a prospective juror, has not been examined and, in light of the finding in Hunter that denying the vote to persons convicted of certain crimes, including "any crime involving moral turpitude" is unconstitutional, we feel that the constitutionality of this requirement should be explored. See also Dobbins v. State, 487 So. The appellant claims that this denial resulted in preventing him from thoroughly cross-examining the State's witnesses and prevented him from preserving and providing a full and complete record on appeal. Dolvin v. State, 391 So. Subsequently, the prosecutor sent the defense counsel a copy of a tape recording of a conversation between Ms. Johnson and a member of the Birmingham police force. The letter identified one of the witnesses as Phyllis Johnson, a correctional officer for the City of Birmingham, and the other witness was not identified. The Court further indicated that there was no record of any objections to the declaration of mistrial in any of the three previous trials. 2d 549 (1970). 1985). denied, 368 So. But this chain of events happened between 1979 and 1987just 34 years ago. This was likely related to the lack of positive eyewitness identification of Anderson as the person who shot Ballard and questions regarding ballistic evidence. . Looking back to the history of the 1901 Alabama Constitutional Convention, the Supreme Court determined "that discrimination against blacks, as well as against poor whites, was a motivating factor for the provision and that 182 certainly would not have been adopted by the Convention or ratified by the electorate in the absence of the racially discriminatory motivation." Furthermore, defense counsel and the district attorney stipulated that twenty seven jurors were questioned individually outside the presence of the other jurors concerning their recollection of any publicity surrounding the case. 2d 1131, 1132 (Ala.Crim.App. Prior to a fourth trial, the appellant filed a petition for a writ of mandamus, claiming that a fourth trial would violate his due process rights and double jeopardy. Josephus Anderson, age 79, would die from natural causes in March, 2021, while serving his life sentence in Holman prison. 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