Sam Sheppard V Maxwell 1966

Sheppard v. Maxwell (1966) Supreme Court Case

Many today contend that the press is the fourth branch of government, impacting people’s views of various national issues. In recent months, the term “fake news” has been used to imply that the press does not always present an objective view of events. In 1966, Sam Sheppard was accused of killing his wife in Bay Village, Ohio, near Lake Erie. Sam Sheppard denied the murder but the press turned out as a major factor in the decision. In Sheppard v. Maxwell (1966) case, the media/press influenced the decision of the jury and the people. The case exposed the emerging power of the press over the citizens of the United States. During Sheppard v. Maxwell (1966), the media converted the jury into a lynch

The first one on October 18, 1954 was suspicious too many regarding the press. A newspaper called Cleveland Press, the local newspaper in the town, took the role of the judge, jury, and accuser. A federal judge said “"If ever there was a trial by newspaper, this is a perfect example”. One example of the newspaper’s involvement with the case was an article called Do It Now, Dr. Gerber, which tried to make a detective start an inquest. An inquest usually involves an investigation of a murder. The detective did not have any intention of investigating the case until the newspaper posted the article. There were also other articles that showed the clear opinion of the newspaper. Some of these articles were called Why Isn’t Sam Sheppard in Jail? and Quit Stalling and Bring Him In. These articles, published on July 30, caused Sam Sheppard to be arrested for a “police interrogation” on the same

His attorney told him to deny any type of accusations against him regarding an affair with Susan Hayes. During the second trial in Cleveland, the judge kept pressuring Sam Sheppard into admitting that he killed his wife Marilyn due to the affair with Susan Hayes. During the accusations, one of the defenders for Sam Sheppard told a reporter to report the people, mostly women, cheering the judge for going against Sam Sheppard, without any type of hesitation. After this trial, Sam Sheppard was arrested for one day but released due to the payment of a 50,000-dollar bail. But on December 1, 1954, Susan Hayes admitted to having an intimate relationship with Sam Sheppard. He was arrested again the same day “guilty” of first-degree murder towards his wife, but on December 7th, the jury accused him of second-degree murder and arrested for life with his first parole until the next ten years