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Court Event 1
1.) Date: December 21, 1954
2.) Ohio Court of Common Pleas
3.) Trial
4.) Jury
5.) Jury returns verdict of guilty in the second degree, ending what was until then one of the longest criminal trials in American history. -
Court Event 2
1.) July 1955
2.) Eighth District Ohio court of Appeals
3.) Appeal
4.) Judges
5.) Dr.Sheppard's appeal to the state court of appeals is rejected, and the denial is upheld in subsequent appeals, including one to the U.S. Supreme Court -
Court Event 3
1.) 1956
2.) The Ohio Supreme Court
3.) Appeal
4.) Judge
5.) The Ohio Supreme Court affirms lower court decision. -
Court Event 4
1.) January 11, 1956
2.) United States Supreme Court
3.)Appeal
4.) Judges
5.) It is ordered and adjudged that this appeal as of right be, and the same hereby is, dismissed for the reason that no debatable constitutional question is involved. The retrial was dismissed. -
Court Event 5
1.) July 15, 1964
2.) Federal District Court
3.) Appeal
4.) Judge
5.) District Court Judge calls the 1954 trial a "mockery of justice" that violated Sheppard's 14th Amendment rights to due process. The State is ordered to release Sheppard and gives the prosecutor 60 days to bring charges, otherwise the case would be dismissed permanently. -
Court Event 6
1.) March 4, 1965
2.) The State of Ohio Appeals Court
3.) Appeal
4.) Judges
5.) The State of Ohio appeals the District Court ruling to a U.S. Court of Appeals. -
Court Event 7
1.) June 9, 1966
2.) United States Supreme Court
3.) Appeal
4.) Judges
5.) In Sheppard v. Maxwell, by an 8-1 vote, the United States Supreme Court concludes that Sam did not receive a fair trial consistent with the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment and orders the murder verdict invalid. Days later, Prosecutor John Corrigan announces Sam will be re-tried -
Court Event 8
1.) November, 1996
2.) Ohio Court of Common Pleas
3.) Trial
4.) Jury
5.) Not guilty -
Court Event 9
1.) December 2, 1998
2.) The Ohio Supreme Court
3.) Appeal
4.) Judge
5.) Denies request by county prosecution to dismiss civil suit -
Court Event 10
1.) April, 2000
2.) Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas
3.) Trial
4.) Jury
5.) After an eight-week trial in Sam Reese Sheppard's wrongful imprisonment, a jury in the civil suit finds in favor of Cuyahoga County's favor. -
Court Event 11
1.) February 1, 2002
2.) 8th District Court of Appeals
3.) Appeal
4.) Judges
5.) Wrongful imprisonment claim was invalid. -
Court Event 12
1.) August 1, 2002
2.) The Ohio Supreme Court
3.) Appeal
4.) Judges
5.) The Ohio Supreme Court clears the way for trial by ruling against a request by the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor to stop the suit by Sam Reese Sheppard against the State of Ohio for wrongfully imprisoning his father. Decline to review the appeals court decision