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The Supreme Court Case: Gideon V. Wainwright

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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. The court then found him guilty because he was not capable of defending himself in court because he was a man with an 8th grade education. He also had no parents to raise him because he ran away from home so he was an uneducated man living on the streets with nothing to do his whole life.

Gideon did not think this was fair that he was not given a lawyer. He did some research in …show more content…

Wainwright deserved no less attention than it got, although some say it didn’t. The case definitely should have gone to The Supreme Court and it deserved no less than a unanimous 9-0 vote by the Justices. Gideon also should have been proved not guilty in his second trial. Even though he did rob the pool hall he was not given a fair trial for his consequences so he didn’t have to face the consequences. The Gideon v. Wainwright case also violated the 6th and 14th amendment. 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. The laws were changed because some states did not provide lawyers in misdemeanor crimes, but now they do because of this Supreme Court

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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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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 Of Gideon's Trumpet By Anthony Lewis

1571 Words | 7 Pages

The court refused, to which Gideon replied with the claim that the Supreme Court had ruled that all citizens being tried for a felony crime should have aid of counsel. The court ignored the defendants plea, and he was subsequently convicted. Gideon filed a habeas corpus petition to the Florida Supreme Court, which was also rejected. In Gideon's petition to the Supreme Court, found on page eight of the book, he claims that the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, stating that, "[n]o state shall deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law," was violated when the trial court denied Gideon's request for an attorney (Lewis). Although Gideon mentioned a right to counsel roughly six times in his plea, he never mentioned Betts v. Brady (1942).

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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 Vs. Wainwright

578 Words | 3 Pages

Gideon then appealed to the Supreme Court who took his case. They reached a unanimous decision that the state of Florida, by denying Gideon an attorney, had violated his Sixth Amendment right. They said “The Sixth Amendment requires states to provide defense attorneys to any indigent criminal defendant charged with a felony or

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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.

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Gideon Vs Wainwright Case Study

921 Words | 4 Pages

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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On January 15, 1963, Clarence Gideon showed up to court without an attorney and expected the court to appoint one for him because he didn’t have the money to afford one. The Florida Supreme Court refused. The Florida State laws state that they appoint criminals who cannot afford an attorney

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Obergefell V. Hodges: Case Study

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The Role of the People in Key Issues and Policies and Political Culture In the case of Obergefell v. Hodges there were different roles that were played in. The role of the people, policies, and political culture. Each one had an impact on the decision that was made on June 26, 2015. The people with having the right to vote for who they wanted to represent them, the policies being that same sex couple could get married in some states but that marriage was not recognized in a state that did not support it, and the political culture was same sex marriage acceptable.

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Even though the justice system has evolved, people such as African Americans are still judged based on the color of their skin, their country of origin, or their religion. This book has thrived through the 1930’s and the 1960’s and continues to portray an important message today which is why it is so successful. The Eighth Amendment in To Kill A Mockingbird highlights important issues such as putting a stop to cruel and unusual punishments, and dictating excessive fines and excessive bail. Will there ever be a day where the Tom Robinsons in the world will see the Eighth Amendment apply to

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Pros And Cons Of Public Defender

2011 Words | 9 Pages

All of Gideon and Foltz’s hard work to create the position of the public defender if it is not properly used. This unfortunately seems to be the case. This is clearly stated in the article The Public Defender Injustice, written by 5 established lawyers, state,” According to a study by the U.S. Department of Justice, 76% of defendants with a private attorney were convicted, compared to 88% of defendants with a public attorney. ”(Campbell et al.)

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As stated on www.healio.com, the Gideon v. Wainwright case is what brought the need for constitutional protections being accessible by citizens. This being one of the main reasons this amendment is important because not everyone

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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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