Screws v. United States
E362102
Screws v. United States is a 1945 U.S. Supreme Court decision that narrowly interpreted federal civil rights protections in prosecuting state officials for the brutal killing of a Black man, shaping the “willful intent” standard under 18 U.S.C. § 242.
All labels observed (2)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Screws v. United States, 325 U.S. 91 (1945) | 2 |
| Screws v. United States canonical | 1 |
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States Supreme Court case
ⓘ
civil rights case ⓘ criminal law case ⓘ |
| citation | 325 U.S. 91 ⓘ |
| civilRightsImpact | illustrated limitations of federal criminal law in addressing Jim Crow–era racial violence ⓘ |
| constitutionalProvisionInvolved |
Due Process Clause
ⓘ
surface form:
Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment
Fourteenth Amendment ⓘ
surface form:
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
|
| constitutionalRightAtIssue | right not to be deprived of life without due process of law ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1945-05-07 ⓘ |
| decisionType | plurality opinion ⓘ |
| defendantRole |
county sheriff
ⓘ
local law enforcement officials ⓘ |
| effect |
limited the reach of federal criminal civil rights protections at the time
ⓘ
made federal prosecutions of state and local officials for civil rights violations more difficult ⓘ |
| fullName |
Screws v. United States
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
Screws v. United States, 325 U.S. 91 (1945)
|
| historicalContext | decided during the World War II era ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance |
early and influential interpretation of the federal criminal civil rights statute
ⓘ
shaped later federal prosecutions of police brutality and official misconduct ⓘ |
| holding |
a conviction under the statute is valid only if the jury is instructed that the defendant must have had the purpose to deprive the victim of a constitutional right
ⓘ
the federal civil rights statute requires proof that the defendant acted with a specific intent to deprive a person of a federal right ⓘ |
| issue |
meaning of the term "willfully" in the federal civil rights criminal statute
ⓘ
scope of federal criminal liability for state officials who violate constitutional rights ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | federal ⓘ |
| legalArea |
constitutional law
ⓘ
criminal procedure ⓘ federal civil rights law ⓘ |
| locationOfIncident | Baker County, Georgia NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy |
William O. Douglas
ⓘ
surface form:
Justice William O. Douglas
|
| proceduralPosture | review of federal criminal convictions of local officials under the civil rights statute ⓘ |
| raceContext | involved racially motivated violence against a Black victim ⓘ |
| relatedCase |
United States v. Guest
ⓘ
United States v. Price ⓘ |
| relatedConcept |
federal enforcement of civil rights against state actors
ⓘ
specific intent in criminal law ⓘ |
| remedy | convictions were vacated and the case was remanded for further proceedings ⓘ |
| standardCharacterization | narrow interpretation of willfulness requirement ⓘ |
| standardEstablished | willful intent standard under 18 U.S.C. § 242 ⓘ |
| stateOfIncident | Georgia ⓘ |
| statuteInterpreted |
18 U.S.C. § 242
ⓘ
18 U.S.C. § 52 (1940 ed.) ⓘ |
| subsequentCodification | 18 U.S.C. § 242 is the modern codification of the statute interpreted in the case ⓘ |
| term | 1944 Term of the Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| victimDescription | Black man beaten to death by local law enforcement officers ⓘ |
| voteSplit | plurality with multiple concurrences and dissents ⓘ |
| yearDecided | 1945 ⓘ |
Referenced by (3)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Screws v. United States, 325 U.S. 91 (1945)
this entity surface form:
Screws v. United States, 325 U.S. 91 (1945)