ipl-logo

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Gideon Vs Wainwright

745 Words3 Pages

Gideon v. Wainwright changed the way of due process. In 1963 Gideon was accused of breaking and entering a pool hall and stealing a small amount of money. Florida didn’t allow gideon a lawyer. He defended himself after being denied a request for free counsel. Later he was just found guilty. Gideon sued Louie L. Wainwright for habeas corpus.The decision was by the Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren that protected rights of accused criminals and extended the guaranteed the bill of Rights to state actions. Failure of the state to provide counsel for a defendant charged with a felony violated the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Gideon began a life of crime at a young age. Clarence Earl Gideon was born August 30, 1910 in …show more content…

“Appointment by the Supreme Court to represent a poor man is a great honor.” (Lewis 46). To be appointed to a poor man in a case like this is an excruciating opportunity for a lawyer anywhere in the country to appear before the Supreme Court. This significant chance comes with disadvantages, like the fact that there is no monetary compensation whatsoever. The court only pays the cost of the lawyer's transportation to Washington and home. There are no other arrangements for costs, not even a hotel room or clerical help. “The lawyer donates that most valuable commodity, his own time.” (Lewis 47). When the Gideon case was assigned to Fortas, he'd just turned fifty-two. On June 19, 1910 in Memphis, Fortas was born to a modest Jewish family. He went to Southwestern College in the local area and moved through the Yale law school. A colleague said of Fortas: “He values craftsmanship most highly. He is no sentimentalist, and he works for reform of the criminal law because he thinks it is right for society, not because of any illusions about criminals. But under his sobriety and detachment there is passionate conviction. He is an angry man… angry at injustice.” (Lewis

Show More
Related

  • What Are Garrett Morgan Major Accomplishments

    465 Words  | 2 Pages

    Garrett A. Morgan was an African American, who was born in Paris, KY, March 4, 1877. He was 16 years old when he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio. He spent most of his teenage life working as a handyman landowner. Then in 1895 moved from Cincinnati to Cleveland, where there he died July 27, 1963. When he moved from Cincinnati, he only had a sixth grade education.

    Read More

  • Gideon Vs Wainwright Case Study

    1044 Words  | 5 Pages

    The case of Gideon v. Wainwright was argued by the Supreme Court in 1963. This was a Fourteenth Amendment case, centered on the basic right of due process owed to all persons defined in the Constitution of the United States. The facts that contributed to the issue began on June 3rd, 1961. Clarence Earl Gideon was accused by an eyewitness of breaking, entering and committing petty larceny in the Bay Pool Hall in Panama City, Florida. Said eyewitness told the police officer on the scene that he saw Gideon in the pool hall around 5:30 am, and reported to observing Gideon for a time until seeing him come out of the pool hall with a pint of wine.

    Read More

  • Terry V. Ohio Tests The Limitations Of The Fourth Amendment

    841 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Supreme Court argued that the police officer had reasonable suspicion and searching the men was in the best interest of the officer for his protection. It was an eight to one decision, the one being William Douglas. He argued that they were giving too much power to police, and that there should be a court order for search and seizure. In this time period, stop and frisks were an everyday thing. Law enforcement broke the fourth amendment most of the time, abusing their badge that allowed them to search who they want, when they want, whether they were acting a certain way or not.

    Read More

  • Fugitive Slave Case: Ableman V. Booth, 62 US

    536 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the Tenth Amendment of the constitution, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”. There have been moments in history where Congress has implemented laws that states felt were unconstitutional. The Constitution gave states the ability to counter the federal government’s power through the Judiciary branch of government, when they feel a law is unconstitutional. The Founders of our nation gave Congress enumerated powers to pass legislation that needs to be abided by all states and citizens. At times Congress will overstep its powers by enacting laws that are unconstitutional and the states have the right to challenge those powers.

    Read More

  • Gideon Vs Wainwright Essay

    511 Words  | 3 Pages

    Gideon v. Wainwright was a 1963 landmark case in the United States Supreme Court. The court case involved the right to counsel under the Fifth and Sixth Amendment that eventually lead to a fundamental right. The Supreme Court eventually ruled that states are required under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to provide an attorney to defendants in criminal cases who are unable to afford their own attorneys. On June 3,1963 in Panama City, Florida a man known by Clarence Earl Gideon was arrested and charged with breaking and entering a poolroom in Florida with the intent to commit a misdemeanor offense therefore, he was charged with a felony. Clarence Earl Gideon was a poor man from Florida who ran away from home at a early age and was also under educated and had dyslexic throughout his life.

    Read More

  • Merryman Vs Lincoln

    249 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Supreme Court did not share Lincoln’s opinion. Especially, the Chief Justice Roger Taney who, in his role as the federal circuit judge, ruled that Lincoln’s suspension of Habeas Corpus was unconstitutional in a decision called Ex Parte Merryman. He did so after his recommendation for a trial of Merryman in order to determine if there were any legitimate reasons for his arrest met if refusal form Merryman captors. In the end, The President ignored Taney ruling, and Congress never contested Lincoln’s Habeas Corpus decision. Lincoln also met with strong resistance form the general public in regards to his executive order.

    Read More

  • 14th Amendment Pros And Cons

    996 Words  | 4 Pages

    To everybody’s shock, Gideon ended up appealing to the Supreme Court from jail, insisting that his 5th Amendment due process rights and 6th amendment attorney rights had been violated. The Supreme Court took his case and agreed with him, with Attorney General Robert Kennedy in Document 3 going as far as to say that the “whole course of legal history has been changed.” Gideon was able to have his conviction overturned and have a retrial, this time with a lawyer, and was found not guilty. This case shows how important it is to provide convicts with protection in court. They are innocent until proven guilty, and they cannot be tried properly without an attorney.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Atticus Finch And Inherit The Wind

    217 Words  | 1 Pages

    He is a lawyer with a sense of moral justice. He lives in Maycomb,

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast The Bill Of Rights And The 14th Amendment

    484 Words  | 2 Pages

    Wainwright Supreme Court Case,” Clarence Earl Gideon was accused of breaking into a bar in Florida. At his trial, he did not have an attorney because he could not afford one and the judge refused to appoint one to him. Therefore, he had to represent himself in court. He was sentenced to five years in prison in Florida after his trial. But, in prison, he wrote to the Supreme Court about his situation and how it wasn’t fair.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Gideon's Trumpet By Anthony Lewis

    1571 Words  | 7 Pages

    These special circumstances may include things such as illiteracy, ignorance, youth, or mental illness, the complexity of the charge against him, or the conduct of the prosecutor or judge at the trial. Because of true determination and the intolerance of injustice, Gideon filed a writ of certiorari, requesting the US Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of Betts v. Brady in regards to the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, arguing that the absence of representation at his trial meant that he had been denied a fair trial, as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment. Gideon v. Wainwright made legal history, forever changing the interpretation of due process laid out in both the Sixth Amendment and the Fourteenth

    Read More

  • Miranda Vs Arizona Essay

    890 Words  | 4 Pages

    The problem arose when the police officers said they had not advised Miranda of his right to an attorney. Miranda’s lawyer was concerned that his Sixth Amendment Right had been violated. This case was noticed by the ACLU and was taken to the Supreme Court. This case raised issues within the Supreme Court on the rights of Criminal Defendants.

    Read More

  • Summary Of Gideon's Trumpet By Anthony Lewis

    819 Words  | 4 Pages

    Gideon was undoubtedly found guilty of the crime and was sent to prison. While he sat in a Florida prison, Gideon felt that his constitutional right to have an attorney was not granted. Thus, Gideon formulated an appeal to the Supreme Court handwritten on prison paper. The Supreme Court accepted his documents and decided to hear his case. Prior to Gideon vs Wainwright, Betts vs Brady was the case doctrine that was followed.

    Read More

  • Key Constitutional Concepts By Leonore Annemore Annenberg Institute For Civics

    644 Words  | 3 Pages

    Wainwright illustrated the importance of personal rights guaranteed by the constitution. This case began when Clarence Gideon was denied a court appointed lawyer to represent him in a petty crime case. Gideon, unable to afford his own lawyer, was unable to adequately defend himself and consequently was convicted. However, he was undeterred. Gideon then wrote a letter to the Supreme Court to overturn this conviction with the 6th Amendment as his evidence of the court’s misconduct.

    Read More

  • Case Brief Of Gideon Vs Wainright

    816 Words  | 4 Pages

    There he filed for suit agains the Secretary of the Florida Division of Corrections, who at the time was H. G. Cochran. Cochran retired and was replace by Louie Lee Wainright before the case was heard by the Supreme Court. Having studied in the prison library, Gideon argued in his appeal that he was denied council, and therefore his Sixth Amendment rights, as applied to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment, were violated. Issue: Whether the Sixth Amendment constitutional requirement that indigent defendants be appointed counsel

    Read More

  • Prisoner's Rights Movement In The 1960s

    231 Words  | 1 Pages

    The prisoner’s rights movement is mostly recognized for the events that occurred through the 1960s until the 1980s but it is important to review cases beforehand that led up to the movement itself. In the case of Pervear v. Massachusetts of 1866 a case was fought through the Supreme Court. The court ruled that prisoners should have no constitutional rights, which concluded the Eighth Amendment did not apply to them. The Eighth Amendment states “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted” (US Const. Amend XIII).

    Read More

More about Advantages And Disadvantages Of Gideon Vs Wainwright

Open Document