Chambers V. Florida and the Criminal Justice Revolution

Richard Brust

$106.95 $85.28

Paperback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

University Press of Florida
20 May 2025

History of the Americas; Legal history; Human rights & civil liberties law

Series: Government and Politics in the South

The history and enduring legacy of a breakthrough case in criminal justice reform

In 1940, the United States Supreme Court decided in Chambers v. Florida to ban confessions obtained through mental or physical coercion in criminal trials. This landmark ruling laid the groundwork for many later protections for those in the custody of law enforcement. This book shows how the case contributed to what is now known as the “criminal procedure revolution,” a series of Supreme Court rulings that found protections in the Bill of Rights applied not only to defendants in federal cases but also to those in state legal systems.

The trial that sparked this chain of events resulted from the robbing and murder of a white fish market owner in Pompano, Florida, in 1933. Local law enforcement officers extracted confessions from four Black migrant workers after a week of torture and abuse. Simuel McGill, a Black lawyer based in Jacksonville, mounted appeals, kept the accused men safe from lynchings, and eventually took the case to the nation’s highest court, where Justice Hugo Black, among other parts of the ruling, compared justice systems in the Jim Crow South to those of totalitarian nations in 1930s Europe. This book fully explores the case, often overlooked by historians, and its ripple effects—such as the “Miranda rights” formalized in 1966, including the “right to remain silent.”

Chambers v. Florida and the Criminal Justice Revolution demonstrates the influence of African American lawyers in early criminal and civil rights cases, as well as the growing public awareness of abuses of power by white sheriffs and law enforcement authorities during this time. It highlights the ever-present need to safeguard protections for minority and impoverished individuals accused of crimes, reminding readers that with perseverance and vigilance, justice can prevail.

A volume in the series Government and Politics in the South, edited by Sharon D. Wright Austin and Angela K. Lewis-Maddox

By: Richard Brust
Imprint: University Press of Florida
Country of Publication: United States [Currently unable to ship to USA: see Shipping Info]
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 14mm
ISBN: 9780813081021
ISBN 10: 0813081025
Series: Government and Politics in the South
Pages: 204
Publication Date: 20 May 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , College/higher education , Undergraduate , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Richard Brust is an award-winning journalist and legal historian who has worked as an editor and writer at metropolitan newspapers and legal affairs publications.

Reviews for Chambers V. Florida and the Criminal Justice Revolution

CONTENTS List of Figures ix Introduction 1 Part I. Race and Crime: Lawlessness and Racism in the 1930s 1. Pompano in the 1930s 17 2. The Sheriff and Arbitrary Power 28 3. Jailhouse Violence and the Confession 35 4. Prohibition and Lawlessness 42 5. A Trial in the South 52 6. Jacksonville and the African American Lawyer 59 7. Appeals and Lynching 74 Part II. Law and Justice: The Supreme Court Ruling and Its Aftermath 8. Justice Black 95 9. The Due Process Debate 101 10. Southern Fascism 109 11. Decision and Response 119 12. The Criminal Justice Revolution 125 13. A New Generation of Lawyers 135 14. The Decline of Sheriff Clark 145 Epilogue 153 Acknowledgments 159 Notes 161 Bibliography 201 Index 215