Sweet trials
E505100
The Sweet trials were a series of landmark 1920s court cases in Detroit in which Black physician Ossian Sweet and others were tried for defending his home against a white mob, becoming a pivotal episode in the legal battle against racial injustice in the United States.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Sweet trials canonical | 1 |
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
court case
ⓘ
criminal trial ⓘ legal proceeding ⓘ |
| appliesToJurisdiction | Michigan NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| chronology |
first trial ended in hung jury
ⓘ
second trial resulted in acquittal of Henry Sweet ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| describedAs |
landmark civil rights case
ⓘ
pivotal episode in the legal battle against racial injustice in the United States ⓘ |
| fieldOfWork |
civil rights law
ⓘ
criminal law ⓘ |
| follows | purchase of a house by Ossian Sweet in a white neighborhood ⓘ |
| hasCause |
racially motivated mob attack
ⓘ
white mob surrounding Ossian Sweet’s home ⓘ |
| hasDefendant |
Gladys Sweet
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Henry Sweet NERFINISHED ⓘ Ossian Sweet NERFINISHED ⓘ Otis Sweet NERFINISHED ⓘ other members of the Sweet household ⓘ |
| hasDefenseAttorney |
Arthur Garfield Hays
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Clarence Darrow NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasEffect |
raising national awareness of racial injustice in the North
ⓘ
strengthening legal challenges to racially segregated housing ⓘ |
| hasPart |
first Sweet trial
ⓘ
second Sweet trial ⓘ |
| hasProsecutor | Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasVictim | Leon Breiner NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
mob violence
ⓘ
racial discrimination in housing ⓘ right to defend one’s home ⓘ self-defense ⓘ |
| legalStatus | acquittal in second trial ⓘ |
| location | Detroit NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| mainSubject | Ossian Sweet NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| movement | civil rights movement in the United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableFor | application of self-defense doctrine to Black homeowners threatened by white mobs ⓘ |
| organizer | National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| outcome | charges eventually dropped against remaining defendants ⓘ |
| partOf |
history of Detroit
ⓘ
history of racial violence in the United States ⓘ |
| pointInTime | 1925 ⓘ |
| significantEvent | defense of Ossian Sweet’s home against a white mob ⓘ |
| significantFigure |
Clarence Darrow
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
James Weldon Johnson NERFINISHED ⓘ Ossian Sweet NERFINISHED ⓘ Walter White NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| significantPlace | Detroit, Michigan NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| sponsor | NAACP NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| startTime | 1925 ⓘ |
| temporalContext | 1920s ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.