Key Constitutional Concepts By Leonore Annemore Annenberg Institute For Civics

n his book A More Perfect Constitution, Larry Sabato proposes the idea of a six year presidential term with a possible extra two years based on a confirmation election. This is a flawed proposal for many reasons. He says that “nothing wastes time, resources, and capital for a president and his chief advisors like planning for a reelection campaign” (Sabato 84). This is correct but in his proposal for the six year presidential term he adds on a confirmation election where the people vote for if they want another two years of the term, making it 8 years. The confirmation election is just another reelection campaign that would be expensive and dirty for both parties, like Sabato stated that reelection campaigns are bad.

On August 4, 1961 Clarence Earl Gideon was arrested for stealing money and drinks from a pool house in Florida. When he was arrested he was tried for his crimes. The 6th amendment states that if a defendant is too poor to provide a lawyer than he should be provided one by the Court, but Gideon was not given a lawyer. He was not given a lawyer because it says in the Florida law that lawyers are only provided in big felonies, not misdemeanors. So Gideon should have been provided a lawyer and was not.

Clarence Earl Gideon was falsely accused of burglarizing a cigarette machine and jukebox inside a poolroom. When Gideon was sent to court to receive his sentence, he had no lawyer, therefore he had to defend himself. Despite his valiant efforts, Gideon was sent to 5 years in prison. While there, Gideon filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus hoping to challenge his conviction. His ability to file for a petition is a positive right, so even though he was not given a lawyer, despite his need and right to one, some of his positive rights—filing a petition—were still upheld.

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.

The Problem with Age: The Constitution was created nearly two hundred years ago and of course like everything with age, needs repair. Larry J. Sabato, a Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, outlines a number of fixes to the Constitution in his book, A More Perfect Constitution: Why the Constitution Must Be Revised: Ideas to Inspire a New Generation. The aging Constitution has caused a substantial need to review the way a President’s term is held and a creation of a balanced budget.

As the trial came to a close end the jury announced that Clarence Earl Gideon was guilty, and was convicted five years in prison. While being in jail Gideon filed a petition before the Florida Supreme Court declaring that the State of Florida had proclaimed an unfair case trial by denying him his Sixth Amendment the Right to the Assistance of Counsel. The petition sent to the Supreme Court was denied. Next, Gideon did not fall back; he appealed his case to the U.S Supreme Court claiming that putting him on trial without a lawyer was unfair due to the fact that it denied him due process of law against the 14th Amendment. The U.S Supreme Court came to a conclusion to review Gideon’s case, which

The Supreme court trial contained the key players, that were trying to get their point across, of Mr. Clarence Earl Gideon and Louie L. Wainwright. Mr. Gideon's attorney had restated the 6th amendments ability of how a fair, speedy, public trial should be given to

In 1963, the case of Gideon V. Wainwright was presented to the Supreme Court. The case focused on Clarence Gideon, a drifter who was accused of robbing and vandalizing a pool hall in Florida. No witnesses could definitively confirm that Gideon committed the crime but, they could place him in that area near the time of that the robbery occurred. After Gideon was arrested and put on trial, he asked for an attorney because he could not afford one. The judge denied his request because Florida, at the time, did not provide attorneys for those who could not afford it unless, it was a capital crime.

1791 was the year everything changed in the American government. The Bill of Rights was an important addition to the Constitution and was the very reason for its ratification. It clearly states the rights that American citizens have and it is the duty of the government to enforce these rights. However, even with the Bill of Rights, more amendments have been needed over the course of our history. The Constitution has changed with the times.

The decision stated that the sixth amendment applied to states and now we are (Krajicek, Clarence Gideon

3. According to Part I of the video, the most important words in the U.S. Constitution are stated to be the first 52 words. This is because in the first 52 words of the U.S. Constitution it states the six core purposes for why the constitution is being written. The six core purposes are meant to be used as guidelines by way of interpreting the rest of the 4,500 words in the constitution, also with the interpretation of the Declaration of Independence. The six core purposes within the first 52 words are the most important in the U.S. constitution because the rest of the 4,000 other words in the constitution serve the six

To be denied of help when you're indigent is like taking a man’s soul away. Clarence Earl Gideon was far from a hero to the courts. In 1963 Gideon was charged with breaking and entering. It's puzzling to me that one was unable to help himself even if there was a crime being committed and the court system just brushed him off by denying him a court appointed attorney. What would be a misdemeanor in the state of Mississippi is considered a Felony in the state of Florida.

One of these cases, Gideon v. Wainwright, served as a further enforcement of the 14th amendment's words, specifically the due process guarantee. Gideon was

Before the constitution, people had the understanding of a union, but they were more overwhelmed by their insecurities for a strong dominating power. Under the fear of a tyranny gaining power, the earliest 13 states created the Articles of Confederation as the first framework of a national government, which gave the National Congress little power over the practicality of leadership. The nation was chaotic. Madison, a member of the Continental Congress, reacted to the situation through The Federalist Papers he participated in writing. Particularly, the principles of Federalist 10 and 51, complementing the shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation, was sufficient enough to eliminate the abuse of liberty and the arising tyrannies within the

Constitutional law is interested with the duty and powers of the institutions of the government and with the relationship between the citizen and the government. The United Kingdom’s constitutional development has an unbroken history starting from 1066. ‘Constitutionalism’ is the doctrine which governs the lawfulness of government action. Constitutionalism suggests the things that are far more important than the concept of ‘legality’ which expects official conduct to be as per pre-settled lawful guidelines. In brief, constitutionalism suggests the limitation of power, the separation of powers, the doctrine of responsible accountable government and the protection of individual rights and freedoms.