Law, Morality, Hugo Black, and Father Coyle

Today at Notre Dame Law School I heard a very interesting talk by Judge William Pryor, of the United States Court of Appeals, on the 1921 murder in Birmingham, Alabama of Father James Coyle by Edwin Stephenson, a methodist minister.  I do not have a link, but here is an account of an earlier version of the talk, along with some discussion about the case.

One of the defense lawyers for Mr. Stephenson was Hugo Black, who went on, of course, to serve in the United States Senate and on the Supreme Court of the United States.  Like (it appears) most of the players in the trial, Hugo Black was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, and anti-Catholicism and racism figured prominently in his defense.

Judge Pryor's primary theme was that lawyers -- even defense lawyers -- are not excused by their role, or by canons calling for "zealous advocacy," from their obligation to avoid evil.