why did the supreme court not address the question of whether or not powell and his friends were guilty?

The Supreme Court did not settle the Powell v. Alabama case because it considered that the defendants had not received a fair trial, in accordance with the rule of due process, since the defendants had not had a defense attorney until moments before presenting the evidence. In this way, their right of defense was violated and thus, although the factual evidence incriminated them, the trial was not carried out respecting the rights of the accused.