Editing Chambers v. Florida (section)

==Case ==
The case was argued on January 6, 1940, in front of the court by S.D. McGill, a Black civil rights attorney involved with the [[NAACP|National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]], representing four black men convicted for the murder of a white man in [[Florida]]. McGill, joined by Leon A. Ransom of the [[NAACP]] National Legal Committee, argued before the U.S. Supreme Court. [[Thurgood Marshall]], special counsel for the NAACP, appeared on the defendants’ brief but did not participate in the courtroom arguments.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetailpre1989.aspx?caseid=423#:~:text=On%20the%20night%20of%20May,interrogated%20them%20about%20the%20murder | title=Walter Woodward - National Registry of Exonerations Pre 1989 }}</ref> 

The defendant Chambers, along with three other co-defendants, were four of up to forty transient black men arrested for the murder of Robert Darcy, an elderly local man, in [[Pompano Beach, Florida]]. The community was outraged by the murder, and the [[Broward County]] Sheriff's department was apparently under pressure to close the case. Chambers and the other defendants were taken to [[Miami]] for questioning, ostensibly to protect them from the mob that had formed, and then to [[Fort Lauderdale]].

The state did not contest that the defendants were held without access to legal counsel, and were not [[arraigned]] for a week. They were subjected to questioning on a random basis, often alone in a room with up to ten police officers and other members of the community. In the legal climate before ''[[Miranda v. Arizona|Miranda]]'', they were not informed of their right to remain silent. After a week of questioning, and despite previous denials, the four co-defendants eventually confessed to the crime and were convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. Their convictions were affirmed by the [[Supreme Court of Florida]].<ref>''Chambers v. State'', 136 [[Florida Supreme Court|Fla.]] [https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/3388037/chambers-v-state/ 568], 187 [[Southern Reporter|So.]] 156 (1939).</ref>