User:Paris1127/Groppi v. Wisconsin

Groppi v. Wisconsin, 400 U.S. 505 (1971), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that a state law barring a change of venue in a misdemeanor jury trial, regardless of local prejudice against the defendant, violates the defendant's right to an impartial jury under the Sixth Amendment, extended to state courts by the Fourteenth Amendment.

Background
Father James E. Groppi was a Catholic priest and civil rights activist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during the African American civil rights movement in the late 1960s. Assigned as the priest of the black-majority parish of St. Boniface's, Groppi joined the march on Washington in 1963 and the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965 in support of the Voting Rights Act. He also worked with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference registering voters in the South in 1965. When Groppi returned to Milwaukee in 1965, he began working with the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), protesting against segregation of Milwaukee Public Schools.

In Summer 1967, race riots broke out across the United States. In late July, a riot broke out in Milwaukee, on the predominantly African-American north side. Order was restored by August 4, but tensions remained in the city. On August 27, Groppi led his congregation on a march through white neighborhoods to protest housing discrimination. On August 29, Groppi took part in another march which was met by a mob of 13,000 counter-protesters and sniper fire. NAACP headquarters burned that night, and Milwaukee Mayor Henry Maier banned similar demonstrations. On August 31, Groppi, along with fellow activist/alderman Vel Phillips and others, was arrested marching on Milwaukee City Hall for violating Maier's order, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest.

Due to local antipathy to Father Groppi due to his activism, he attempted to get a change of venue to be tried before a more impartial jury. At the time, Wisconsin Statute § 953.03(3) stated:

Under Wisconsin law, Groppi faced a potential fine of $500, up to a year in county jail, or both, for resisting arrest, a misdemeanor. The trial judge denied Groppi's motion. On appeal, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld the trial court's ruling, noting that Groppi's lawyers were still able to conduct voir dire with potential jurors and ask for a continuance if necessary, and, in the event of a conviction, the judge could still set aside the verdict if he felt Groppi had not gotten a fair and impartial trial. The majority also thought that "it would be extremely unusual for a community as a whole to prejudge the guilt of any person charged with a misdemeanor." Two justices dissented, arguing that the statute did not categorically forbid a change of venue in a misdemeanor case, and, if such a prohibition did exist, it would be unconstitutional. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari and heard arguments on December 7, 1970.