Amy Keitel

Melissa Lim

November 9, 2009

Think About It!

“Congress shall make no law… abridging the

freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble…”

“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial,

by an impartial jury…”

“… [N]or shall any State deprive any person of life,

liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Marilyn Sheppard Murder

• Found dead on July 4, 1954

• Her husband, Dr. Sam Sheppard said he saw a “shadowy figure” standing over her body

• Dr. Sheppard was arrested after an onslaught of media coverage of the murder

• He was convicted of second-degree murder in a highly publicized case

1954 Media Headlines & Editorials

“Testify Now in Death, Bay Doctor is Ordered”

“Doctor Balks at Lie Test”

“Someone is Getting Away with Murder” “Why Don’t Police Quiz

Top Suspect?”

“Police Captain ‘Urges Sheppard’s Arrest’”

“Why Isn’t Sam Sheppard in Jail?”

“Get That Killer”

Media Influence

• Dr. Sheppard was accused through many articles and opinions in local papers before he was arrested

• During the trial, Dr. Sheppard and his counsel were given virtually no space between themselves and the media

• Very large media presence inside and outside of the courtroom

• National broadcaster Walter Winchell reports arrested woman in New York was Dr. Sheppard’s mistress

• -Claimed they had illegitimate child

• Two jurors admit hearing broadcast

Uh Oh!

What should judge do?!

Judge takes no action.

Report is false.

December 17-21, 1954: Jury deliberates

Sequester: v. to set off or apart; to withdraw; seclude

Sheppard v. Maxwell (1966)

After 12 years in jail, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed his conviction because he did not receive a fair trial due to media interference

11 out of 12 jurors admitted to reading about the case in newspapers or watching news stories about it

Sheppard v. Maxwell (1966)

8-1 Decision

Justice Tom Clark delivered the opinion - “Despite his awareness of the excessive pretrial publicity, the trial judge failed to take effective measures against the massive publicity which continued throughout the trial or to take adequate steps to control the conduct of the trial.”

Sheppard’s trial violated the Sixth Amendment – the right to due process

Freedom of the press-First Amendment

The 1960s were a time of many people lobbying for civil rights and freedom of speech, and the Courts wanted to be sure to impede this right as little as possible

“…[It] will be necessary to make known American injustice perpetrated not by the laws of our land, but by those who have sworn themselves to uphold those laws… A frightening breach of American rights has taken place, and the important point is that the breach has happened here in America, not who it has happened to.”

-Dr. Sam Sheppard, 1955from his prison journal

Must Prevent Prejudice in Trials

• Change of venue

• Continuance

• Sequestration of jurors

• Judicial admonition

• New Trial

• Voir Dire – Jurors

• Gag Orders

• FAIR REPORTING!

Where is Sheppard now?

What happened in murder case?

Case Influenced…

• 1961 The Sheppard Murder Case –Paul Holmes

• 1963 “The Fugitive”

- 1993 “The Fugitive”

• Tailspin: The Strange Case of a Major Call

• Walk for Justice

• SamReeseSheppard.org

Other Highly Publicized Trials/Murder Cases

• Trial of Amanda Knox, American student who is accused of murdering Meredith Kercher, a student studying abroad with her in Peruggia, Italy

• “Innocent Abroad, or a Calculating Killer?” (Independent.co.uk)

• Murder of Annie Le, Yale Doctoral Student

• OJ Simpson murder trial

Works Cited

• Chronology of a Murder. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sheppard/chronology2.html>.

• Citizens United for Alternatives to the Death Penalty. <www.samreesesheppard.org>

• Eakin, Marah. “Media Ethics with a Life at Stake: The Sam Sheppard Murder Trial.” Ohio University: The Institute for Applied & Professional Ethics. 2009.

• Garry, Patrick M. "Sheppard vs. Maxwell." <http://www.answers.com/topic/sheppard-v-maxwell >

• Middleton, Kent R and Lee, William. E. (2010). The Law of Public Communication: New York, Allyn and Bacon.

• Sheppard v. Maxwell 384 U.S. 333 (1966)

• The Oyez Project, Sheppard v. Maxwell , 384 U.S. 333 (1966) http://oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1965/1965_490