Gagnon V Scarpelli Case Study

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In the matter of Gagnon v. Scarpelli (USSC, 1973), Gerald Scarpelli was originally convicted of armed robbery for an incident that occurred in Wisconsin in 1963. In 1965, Scarpelli was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment in the State of Wisconsin (Gagnon v. Scarpelli, n.d.). After serving a brief incarceration, Scarpelli had his sentence reduced to seven years probation, was released from prison, and later moved to Illinois with the permission of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. After becoming a resident of Illinois, Scarpelli was then supervised by the Adult Probation Department of Illinois. Shortly after, Scarpelli was subsequently caught committing the act of burglary in the State of Illinois. Though Scarpelli states that his admission of guilt for participation in the burglary was given under duress, he was confined for the new charge (Gagnon v. Scarpelli, n.d.). Upon receiving the new criminal charge in Illinois, the Wisconsin Department of Corrections immediately revoked …show more content…

Scarpelli had filed the writ based upon an allegation of a denial of his right to due process under the Constitution (Gagnon v. Scarpelli, n.d.). The district court agreed that revoking Scarpelli’s probation without a hearing was in fact a denial of his due process right. John Gagnon, Warden of the State of Wisconsin Department of Corrections, appealed this decision all the way to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals for the United States, where the district court’s ruling was upheld each time. Upon reaching the United States Supreme Court, there were two questions at hand: Is a previously sentenced probationer entitled to a hearing when their probation is revoked and is that individual entitled to representation by an attorney for the hearing? (Gagnon v. Scarpelli,

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