Clarence Darrow was a famous and controversial
American lawyer.
He was born in 1857. He became a lawyer in 1879 when
he was only 22 years old. He worked as a lawyer for more than five decades:
1880-1932.
His long career as a lawyer can be divided into three chapters:
# 1. From corporate lawyer to labor lawyer
(1880-1911)
# 2. From defense lawyer to defendant
(1911-1912)
# 3. From labor lawyer to criminal lawyer
(1912-1932)
After his final case in 1932, he lived in retirement
for six years. He died in 1938. During a long career as a lawyer, he argued
many cases. While he won most of them, he did not win all of them.
Here are some of his most remarkable cases:
In 1894, he defended Patrick Eugene Prendergast who
was accused of murder. Prendergast was guilty, but Darrow hoped that he would
be able to save him from the death penalty. He did not succeed. Prendergast was
found guilty of murder and the penalty was death.
Darrow was opposed to the death penalty. This was one
of the few times when he was unable to save the life of his client.
In 1894 and 1895, he defended the well-known labor
activist Eugene Victor Debs who was a key figure behind the Pullman strike of
1894.
The railroad company and the government wanted Debs to
be punished because he had organised a strike. Darrow defended him, but he was
not able to save Debs from prison. Debs had to serve six months in prison.
In 1907, Darrow defended the labor activist William
“Big Bill” Haywood and two other persons who were accused of hiring a man to
kill the former governor of Idaho.
This time Darrow was able to persuade the members of
the jury. Haywood was found not guilty and when this happened the charges
against the other two defendants were dropped
In 1911 and 1912, Darrow was in California. While he
was preparing to defend his clients, he was accused of trying to bribe a member
of the jury.
All of a sudden, the defense lawyer became a
defendant. Two trials were held. During the first, he was defended by another
lawyer. During the second, he defended himself.
While he was never found guilty, his reputation as a
lawyer suffered a serious blow as a result of what happened in California.
Following this experience, he was no longer a lawyer
who defended labor activists. From 1912, he focused on criminal law.
His most famous cases took place in the 1920s.
In 1924, he defended two persons who had committed a
murder. They were guilty. He wanted to save their lives and this time he
managed to do that. They were both sentenced to life in prison.
In 1925, he was involved in the so-called Scopes
Monkey trial. He lost the case. His client was found guilty, but then the
verdict was overturned on a technicality. It looked like he had won the case.
In 1925 and 1926, he defended Ossian Sweet and his
younger brother Henry Sweet. There were two trials.
The first trial ended with a hung jury. The second trial ended with the verdict not guilty. Darrow was successful. He won the case.
Having argued these cases, he planned to retire, but
in 1932, he was persuaded to come out of retirement in order to conduct one final case.
He was invited to defend four persons who were accused
of kidnapping and killing a local man in Hawaii. This case is known as the Massie trial.
He did not win the case. His clients were found
guilty. The sentence might have been ten years in prison. But then the governor
of Hawaii decided to commute the sentence to a confinement in the governor's
office.
How long was the confinement?
One hour!
After one hour, his clients were released.
Clarence Darrow had served his clients well.
But some people said these clients should not have been
released so quickly. They deserved to be punished, because they were guilty.
Some people were shocked and disappointed to see that
Darrow was prepared to come out of retirement in order to defend rich white clients
who had committed serious crimes against a person of color.
In the beginning of his career, Darrow defended the
little guy, the poor man, who was up against the system. At the end of his
career, Darrow was prepared to defend rich clients who were guilty of serious
crimes.
His final case in 1932 was quite different from the
time when he had defended the radical trade union activist Eugene Victor Debs
in 1894 and 1895.
REFERENCE
The website Famous Trials
Clarence Darrow (1857-1938)
*****
The Story of My Life
By Clarence Darrow
(First published in 1932)
(Paperback version 1996)
*****
