One Man's Castle: Clarence Darrow in Defense of the American Dream.

One Man's Castle: Clarence Darrow in Defense of the American Dream 

Phyllis Vine Harper Collins Publishers www.harpercollins.com 352 pp., $24.95.

One Man's Castle tells the story of one of Clarence Darrow's lesser-known cases, in which he defended members of an African-American family charged with conspiracy to murder after protecting their newly purchased home from an angry mob whose members did not want an African-American family moving into the all-white neighborhood.

Residential housing segregation still exists in America today, and the book reveals many of its causes. Author Phyllis Vine shows how far we have come, comparing the present to the days when legislatures refused to pass anti-lynching laws, white homeowner associations were formed for the overt purpose of keeping African-Americans out of their neighborhood, and Jim Crow laws divided not only cities, but all public or private services, based on skin color.

Vine, a historian who has taught at several colleges and written for magazines, also reminds us how far we must go to reach the American dream of equality: The continued fear of racial integration results in an estimated 2 million acts of housing discrimination a year, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. By focusing on the dreams, accomplishments, and troubles of an African American family moving into an all white Detroit neighborhood in the 1920s, Vine helps us understand our past and the efforts needed to bring about true equality.

On September 9, 1925, with the police looking on, a mob of 60 to several hundred Ku Klux Klan sympathizers gathered and threw rocks at the home of Dr. Ossian Sweet. His brother Henry Sweet and others in the house fired several shots--one of which allegedly killed Leon Breiner, one of the mob. The state obtained indictments against Ossian Sweet and 10 other family members and friends for conspiracy to commit murder:

The NAACP approached Darrow only five days before the trial was to begin. He had spent the previous year trying the Scopes "monkey trial" and the famous Leopold and Loeb murder case, so he was reluctant to take on this difficult representation. Darrow finally relented an d agreed to put the racial prejudice of the mob and the police on trial.

Most judges in Detroit hoped to avoid the trial, fearing that presiding over it would amount to political suicide, but Judge Frank Murphy actively sought out the role. One of his reasons was the opportunity to observe Darrow, the greatest lawyer of his time. Murphy was known for his "liberal" ideas on race relations; he went on to become the mayor of Detroit and an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

In the end, there were two trials. The first, involving all 11 defendants, resulted in a mistrial. The second involved only Henry Sweet; the all-white jury acquitted him, shocking Detroit and the nation.

We were disappointed that the author did not spend more time discussing Darrow's seven-hour closing argument in the first trial, in which he spoke with passion about the prejudices that we all harbor, especially those regarding race relations in America.

Darrow thought this summation to be his best ever. It reflected the many themes of the trial, including the responsibility of the police, the victim, and the mob for the death that occurred when the Sweets defended their home and lives. (A copy of the full closing argument is available online: www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ ftrials/sweet/Darrowsumml.html.)

One Man's Castle brings to life the many nonlegal strategies used to win this unpopular case, such as forming legal defense funds for the defendants and mobilizing the NAACP and other African-American professional groups. Retaining Clarence Darrow made a local trial into one of national interest. These tactics, in the final analysis, resulted in the successful defense.

Many of the lessons described in this book are still relevant for civil rights cases today. For example, citizens, organizations, and lawyers fighting the USA PATRIOT Act must use these methods if our civil liberties are to be preserved.

EDWARD G. KRAMER practices law with Kramer & Associates in Cleveland. AMANDA REECE is both a real estate agent and residential mortgage lender in Cleveland.