Contempt of court
Subtitle: the turn-of-the-century lynching that launched 100 years of federalism
By: Mark Curriden and Leroy Phillips, Jr.
Contributors: Phillips, Leroy, 1935-
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Published: 1999
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 394
Subjects: Contempt of court -- United States -- History; Lynching -- Tennessee -- Chattanooga -- History
Description: "When Ed Johnson, a black man, was wrongly convicted of rape in 1906 and sentenced to death in Tennessee, Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan issued a stay of execution, declaring that Johnson's right to a fair trial had been violated, and that he had been railroaded through the criminal justice system. The interference of the Supreme Court was not well received back in Chattanooga.

A violent mob answered this federal "interference" by dragging Johnson from his jail cell, beating him, and hanging him from a bridge. Local police did nothing to prevent the lynching, nor were any members of the mob arrested. For the first and only time in history, an enraged Supreme Court conducted a criminal trial to enforce its authority. It brought contempt of court charges against the sheriff, his deputies, and members of the lynch mob."--BOOK JACKET.

"The first book written about these highly charged events, Contempt of Court raises issues of federalism versus states' rights that are as timely today as they were almost a century ago. Johnson's case led to a precedent-setting criminal trial that is unique in the annals of American jurisprudence. This riveting tale will prove essential reading for all interested in how American justice works."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [377]-383) and index.