Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America by Gilbert King

Author:Gilbert King [King, Gilbert]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3, mobi
Tags: United States, True Crime, 20th Century, History, General
ISBN: 9780062097712
Google: wLEMM_ifNzwC
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2012-03-06T05:00:00+00:00

ON MARSHALL’S RETURN to the New York office after his travels in Tokyo and Korea, which had overextended his calendar and his energy, he resumed working with his New York office staff on preparation of the Groveland Boys case for the Supreme Court. He had intended to argue the case himself, but his trip to the Far East, and his monthlong absence, made him reconsider his plan. He faced an awkward decision. While Robert Carter was more than capable as a counsel, he was not as especially familiar with the case as Jack Greenberg, who had prepared the brief. Greenberg, on the other hand, lacked Carter’s experience, since he had only recently started working at the NAACP offices, and although he had already gained Marshall’s confidence, he was not yet ready, in Marshall’s opinion, to argue his own Supreme Court case.

In early December, Franklin Williams wrote to Marshall, pleading for the chance to argue before the Supreme Court. “I am sure you can appreciate my having this desire,” Williams wrote, adding that it “would be the logical conclusion” of his association with the Groveland case. Marshall, however, was dismissive. “To pull you out of the west coast for a week or two would certainly deprive the Association of your services during that period,” he wrote, adding, “I think you will agree that it will be better to leave things as they are.”

His point made, Marshall soon realized that he did not have any other real choices. His differences with Williams did not prevent him from acknowledging the younger attorney’s notable legal talent, not to mention his unmatched grasp of the Groveland case, and in the winter of 1951 he brought the “exiled” Williams back east to argue Shepherd v. Florida before the Supreme Court. Marshall acknowledged that Williams was not merely the best available choice for the job but also probably the best lawyer to handle the arguments, period.

On March 9, Marshall, in a heavy winter overcoat and fedora, arrived on the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court, where he posed for a photo with his LDF team: Jack Greenberg, Franklin Williams, and Robert Carter. Alex Akerman, who had worked with Greenberg on the brief for the appeal, as he himself had presented the case for the Groveland Boys’ defense before Judge Truman Futch in Tavares, had traveled up from Florida to see the attorney he had partnered at the original trial, Frank Williams, argue before the nine justices on the Supreme Court. On the trip north, Akerman had run into Reeves Bowen, the assistant attorney general of Florida, against whom he had argued the Groveland case before the Florida Supreme Court. Akerman had wondered why Bowen had decided to come to Washington himself to argue Shepherd v. Florida. “Well,” Bowen had responded, “I wasn’t going to send anybody else up to be slaughtered.” For, once the Court had ruled on Cassell, Bowen had little doubt as to what the outcome would be in Shepherd.

“Oyez! Oyez! Oyez!” the marshal of the court bellowed.

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