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Gideon Vs Wainwright Essay

514 Words3 Pages

Gideon v. Wainwright is truly an important and landmark case, because it established that states must provide counsel to indigent defendants according to the US Constitution(Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments). This is not the first case were the issue of defendants being denied counsel has surfaced. In the following cases defendants were also denied right to counsel- Betts v. Brady, 316 U.S. 455 (1942) and Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458 (1938). Gideon v. Wainwright is the case that changed the criminal justice system for good, requiring that defendants be offered counsel during court trials and on appeals. This ended discrimination against the indigent defendants, people who could not afford legal counsel, and people who did not know how the legal …show more content…

A person can be innocent even when there is compelling evidence against them or they may have committed the crime based on some reason like they were under duress or were coerced and the possibility they were framed. Therefore, maybe they should receive no prison time, less prison time or be charged with a lesser offense. If the defendant does not know the law, how the legal system works and how to defend himself, he will surely get sent to prison for a very long time depending on the type of crime he was charged with. This case, Gideon v. Wainwright brought the criminal justice system a step forward were everybody gets a fair chance in court and a chance to explain and defend themselves. Most people do not know what is going on after they get arrested or what they have to do. Having a lawyer by your side can take the burden and stress of off you. Now you have somebody to guide you through the legal process and somebody that will fight for your innocence, whether you are guilty or not. The number of people currently incarcerated is about 2

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Gideon Vs Wainright Case Analysis

430 Words | 2 Pages

Transcript of Civil Liberties & the Civil Rights Court Cases Assignment Civil Liberties & the Civil Rights Court Cases Assignment Gideon v Wainright Dates: Argued January 15, 1963 Decided March 18, 1963 Background: Charged in a Florida State Court with a non capital felony, petitioner appeared without funds and without counsel and asked the Court to appoint counsel for him, but this was denied on the ground that the state law permitted appointment of counsel for indigent defendants in capital cases only. Mapp v. Ohio Dates : Argued March 29, 1961

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Gideon V. Negligence Case Study

1232 Words | 5 Pages

Shown here in the case of Gideon v. Wainwright, the court took it a step further by requiring states to supply defense attorneys to all criminals who have been charged with a felony (Gideon v. Wainwright par 5). Clarence was not a free man, however, but he did obtain a fresh trial (Clarence Earl Gideon par 11). With a new attorney to represent himself, known as Abe Fortas, Clarence was found not guilty (Remembering Gideon’s Lawyers page 18). The Supreme Court was rampant with numerous opinions related to the decision.

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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

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Summary Of The Supreme Court Case Of Gideon V. Wainwright

1023 Words | 5 Pages

Clarence Earl Gideon was an indigent living in Florida who was accused of breaking into the Bay Harbor Poolroom in Panama City, Florida with the intention to commit petty larceny. He had to represent himself at trial since he was poor and Florida did not provide state-funded attorneys for indigents. Once the case was taken up by the Supreme Court, it was affirmed by unanimous decision that anyone had a right to counsel. In Betts v. Brady which Gideon’s case overturned, Betts was an indigent accused of robbery who, when he asked for counsel at his trial, was denied. He later appealed his case up the court system and eventually to the Supreme Court on the grounds that, due to such actions, he had been held illegally.

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Summary: The Case Of Kevin Byrd

1309 Words | 6 Pages

(INTRODUCTION)Did you ever have a love one who was innocent but still served time for no reason all because he or she was in the wrong place at the wrong time or just the main suspect of a crime because he or she fit the description a witness provided. I go to a school in West Fargo and I’m a junior haven’t really seen unjust in my life to anyone I know. But read multiple articles on unjust sentence to people and wrote multiple paragraphs on the cases I read 24 to be exact. The article included lawyers view the innocent victim view and also the witness view after the trail. (Reason)people are sent to jail over speculations and evidence that don't connect to the victim of the crime.

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Salem Witch Trials: Unfair Court Cases In 1692

1753 Words | 8 Pages

For instance, the defendants were not allowed an attorney or any sort of help, although the prosecution was. This even violated the sixth amendment in the American Constitution, meaning it was outright illegal (EB 1). Another example of unfairness to the defendant, is that all of the judges of the court had no legal background or training, and ran the courts only from the knowledge of the Bible, and advice from Ministers (2 CSD 1). This lack of legal background almost guaranteed that if they had to make a decision, they would decide in favor of the prosecution, because that was the side they supported. Furthermore, the courts were also run unfairly because anytime someone was found not guilty, the judges would urge the jury to think again, trying to make them vote guilty (1 CSD

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The Supreme Court Case: Gideon V. Wainwright

1659 Words | 7 Pages

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.

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The Guilty Of Clarence Earl Gideon's Trial

266 Words | 2 Pages

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.

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Clarence Gideon's Trial

114 Words | 1 Pages

Clarence Gideon was accused of breaking and entering the bay harbor poolroom. he went to court and was found guilty. he went to prison for two years and he wrote to the supreme court during that time, it was taken in committee and Clarence 's letter helped overturn Brady and now everyone gets a court appointed lawyer if need. his letter was read and he got a second trial because his second was found to be unfair. he won his second trial and got out of jail.

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Summary Of Gideon's Trumpet By Anthony Lewis

819 Words | 4 Pages

The written story of how Clarence Earl Gideon, a poor Florida man, went from a convicted criminal to ultimately redefining legal history is astounding. The Supreme Court commonly dismisses more cases than it accepts and the fact that a handwritten petition from a prison inmate was accepted shows that even the seemingly most insignificant person can make a difference in our society. The book’s literature is highly legalistic but constantly provides a detailed account of how the judicial system is constructed. Coming from a regular college student standpoint with no previous formal law education, this makes the underlying concept easier to grasp. The story’s setting during the time of the Gideon case, showed how the legal system was constructed towards the growing concept of a defendant’s rights.

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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.

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Essay On Gideon Fifth Amendment

735 Words | 3 Pages

Gideon claimed that the Supreme Court of the United States entitled him to be represented by counsel. Gideon was then denied a lawyer because the state law of Florida states that the court will only give an

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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.

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Argumentative Essay: The Death Of John Kennedy

869 Words | 4 Pages

Being accused of committing a crime is a serious matter. Once you are convicted you deserve to be punished for some time. For instance, if a person commits a murder they deserve to go to jail for a long time because no one person is that superior to take away another man's life. Then again what if that person didn't pull the trigger? What if the person was always at the wrong place at the wrong time?

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Lawyer Career Disadvantages

1049 Words | 5 Pages

Lawyers The lawyer job is to keep you from being punished. The lawyers will argue to the court on your behalf and will ask questions witnesses for the prosecution and raise all sorts of legal defenses The defense lawyer does not care about your guilt or innocence; as their only aim is to ensure they are defending. you. It is a requirement under the law of the land.

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