Devil in the Grove

Private detective “Miss L.B. De Forest” arrives in Groveland for her undercover investigation. Posing as a young woman looking to buy a house, she urges people to sign a petition to abolish the death penalty. She meets Norma Padgett at church and persuades her to sign the petition. While Norma signs, Miss De Forest notices that she is carrying her newborn—a white baby.

Miss De Forest also visits the family of Lawrence Burtoft, who express skepticism about Norma’s story and fill in more details about the morning of July 16. Gas station attendant Curtis Howard emerges as an important player in the story, as he professedly helped Willie Padgett find Norma that morning.

Marshall returns to New York from Korea to continue working on the Groveland case for the Supreme Court. Williams pleads to argue the case, and Williams accedes. The hearing is held at the U.S. Supreme Court on March 9, 1951, with the defense lawyers Marshall, Williams, Akerman, and Robert Carter.

The lawyers argue three specific issues: jury selection, change of venue, and lack of adequate time to prepare a defense. The trial forces Florida Assistant Attorney General Reeves Bowen to admit the Jim Crow traditions that resulted in an all-white jury and other inequities in the case.