Screws v. United States, 325 U.S. 91 (1945), also known as the Screws precedent, was a 1945 Supreme Court case that made it difficult for the federal government to bring prosecutions when local government officials killed African-Americans in an extra judicial manner. Claude Screws, the sheriff of Baker County, Georgia, arrested Robert "Bobby" Hall, an African-American, on January 23, 1942. Hall had allegedly stolen a tire, and was alleged to have tried to fight back against Screws and two of his deputies during the arrest. Hall was arrested at his home. Screws then beat Hall to death.