Trial of Joseph Spell

The trial of Joseph Spell, State of Connecticut v. Joseph Spell, was a 1940 legal case in which an African-American chauffeur was accused of raping the wealthy white woman who was his boss, Eleanor Strubing. The accusations and trial made sensational headlines. Spell was represented by Samuel Friedman and Thurgood Marshall. The case featured in the 2017 film Marshall.

Spell, who was African-American, worked as a chauffeur for a wealthy white woman. After 17 hours of questioning, Spell confessed to being intimate with her, but (contrary to police accounts) said that he had never confessed to raping her. The jury in 1940 ruled him not guilty of rape.

Background

Spell was born in Lafayette, Louisiana in 1909. He served for six years in the U.S. Army before being dishonorably discharged after getting drunk, stealing an officer's car, and crashing it. He married at 17, split with his wife after three months, but never got a divorce, and was living in the attic of his employer's home with his common law spouse Virgis Clark, who was employed by the Strubings as a cook.

After his accuser was cross-examined and contradictions in her story exposed, Spell was acquitted. Immediately after the trial Marshall travelled to Oklahoma to assist with the defense of W.D. Lyons.

In media

Some elements of the trial and surrounding events were depicted in the 2017 movie Marshall. Spell was portrayed by Sterling K. Brown and Thurgood Marshall by Chadwick Boseman.