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The Fourteenth Amendment: Gideon V. Wainwright

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In 1868 the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified and has since completely changed the course of American history. Its assurance of due process and equal protection under the law has served to ensure and defend the rights of all American citizens. It gave a new sense of hope and inspiration to the once oppressed and underrepresented individuals. The Fourteenth Amendment has persistently guided our country as it strives to satisfy its promise of freedom and equality for the nation. Over time, this Amendment has served as a basis for many cases ensuring the equal protection of all citizens. 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
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Having unconvinced the jury, Clarence was subsequently found guilty with five years of jail time (Facts par 3). Knowing 2 his constitutional entitlements were violated, Mr. Gideon compiled a series of petitions in an effort to gain his right to counsel (Facts par 4-5). As a result of his righteousness, the case of Gideon v. Wainwright was born. On June 3, 1961, a suspect broke into the Bay Harbor Poolroom and stole beer, wine, and money (David J Shestokas par 10-11).

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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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These amendments say that Gideon had a right to counsel. He had this right because he didn’t have the funds to provide an adequate lawyer to represent himself in his trial and he needed one to have a fair trial and a chance to free himself from jail. Since he was not provided one they were denying him his rights. This supreme Court case had such a big impact on the United States. It had a big impact because it changed the laws of Florida and the world.

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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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Fortas argued Gideon 's case by using wether Betts V. Brady should be reconsidered. The Betts V. Brady case had ruled that (akin to Gideon’s) that the fourteenth amendment requires states to appoint counsel only under special circumstances. It has been an unpopular standard and was constantly criticized but nevertheless was in effect. In only two short months, the verdict for Gideon 's case had been decided, Betts V. Brady was found unconstitutional, as it violated the sixth amendment 's right to a fair and speedy trial and that looking at the fourteenth amendment, which guarantees due process of law, the court was wrong to not have appointed Gideon a lawyer. The court then ruled that Gideon should be given a retrial, this time with a court appointed

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After the Civil War many amendments were created to ensure and guarantee success to those native and free to this country. The Fourteenth Amendment, is one of three amendments to the Constitution, that was created after the civil war to grant citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed. The main purpose of this amendment was to guarantee black rights. Many people were gracious when the amendment came in play but the rest were not satisfied and were against the ratification of the amendment. This amendment opened the doors to many who deserved it and many more who came in search for a better life.

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The single most important sentence located in the 14th Amendment reads, “Nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of the law nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” This sentence helps to determine if someone has had their rights violated, as evident in the Goss V. Lopez. In this case 9 students were suspended for 10 days without receiving a hearing. It was ruled that this violated the Due Process clause governed by the Constitution. Because of this case public schools re require to provide “oral or written notice of the charges against him and if he denies them an explanation of the evidence the authorities have an opportunity to present his side of the story.”

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The 14th Amendment right to equal protection as recognized under Baker v Carr designed on the surface to ensure fair participation in the democratic process, however, it is more so a check on the majority. As Baker v Carr introduces, the 14th Amendment does not cover all types of discrimination. For example, discrimination by the means of improper districting of a state, intentional or not, is not covered by the Constitution. However, what the 14th Amendment does do effectively is put a check on the majority will through rights. The majority rules and the only way to prevent this is through rights, which dictate what people are and are not allowed to do.

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Even with his efforts, the jury still found Gideon guilty. He was sentenced to five years in prison. While in jail, in the library he researched about the Sixth Amendment, how the defendants should have the right to an attorney even when they cannot afford one and the law.. To try and change that, Gideon petitioned a habeas corpus. A habeas corpus is a writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court to secure the person’s release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention.

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The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects any person within their jurisdiction of their due process and equal protection. The Equal Protection Clause under the 14th Amendment requires the states to apply their laws equally to any person within their jurisdiction. The equal protection clause aims to provide equal application of the law. It is also crucial to the protection of civil rights. There should be no discrimination in its application.

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In the viewpoint of classical republicanism, the federally protected land should be turned over to the state governments to decide what to do with the land. In the 14th amendment, the due process clause is designed to protect the legal rights of an individual. This is a perfect example of natural rights philosophy within our government. The natural rights philosophy values individual rights the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as stated in the United States Declaration of Independence. Amendment 14 protects Americans individual rights all with serving as an excellent example of natural rights philosophy in our government.

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The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution assured that people born in The United States are American citizens and individual states cannot deprive them of their constitutional rights. It also assured that all citizens in all states enjoyed not only rights on the federal level, but on the state level, too. In 1866, when the 14th Amendment was ratified, the U.S. was in the midst of Reconstruction, particularly in the south. Because all African-American people freed from slavery, they needed land, housing, jobs, etc, and the Republicans wanted equality to be protected by the Constitution itself, which is where the 14th Amendment came into play. People were unhappy with the fact that President Johnson vetoed the proposal of the 14th Amendment at first.

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The landmark case isn’t too hard to understand, a child was stripped down to being almost naked and had to expose herself to be searched for headache medicine even though she complied with all of the questions and answered truthfully. “… The court of appeals held that Ms. Redding’s Fourth Amendment right to be free of unreasonable search and seizure was violated. It reasoned that the strip search was not justified nor was the scope of intrusion reasonably related to the circumstances.” This was one of the landmark cases that truly challenged the rights stated in the

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The Fourteenth Amendment (Amendment XIV) The amendments were put into place to protect the rights and civil liberties of all American citizens from the federal government. However, prior to the fourteenth amendment, there was no certainty with the constitution. The constitution did not state in a clear enough way who was protected under it and exactly what rights you had as an American Citizen. The 14th amendment was in response to the just passed thirteenth amendment, which ended slavery in all of the southern states.

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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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