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Gideon's Trumpet

This document summarizes the 1963 Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright. It discusses how the case established the right to counsel for criminal defendants, even if they cannot afford an attorney. Specifically, it established that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel applies to state court proceedings as well as federal through the Fourteenth Amendment. The case helped ensure greater equality and fairness in the criminal justice system by providing legal representation to indigent defendants.

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Jeremy Campbell
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1K views2 pages

Gideon's Trumpet

This document summarizes the 1963 Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright. It discusses how the case established the right to counsel for criminal defendants, even if they cannot afford an attorney. Specifically, it established that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel applies to state court proceedings as well as federal through the Fourteenth Amendment. The case helped ensure greater equality and fairness in the criminal justice system by providing legal representation to indigent defendants.

Uploaded by

Jeremy Campbell
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Gideons Trumpet Gideon's Trumpet, purporting to tell "how one man...

changed the law of the United States", actually tells a much different story: How critical representation y counsel is when one is called efore the !ourt. Gideon's plea was, of itself, unimportant. The particulars of the case simply fit the re"uired criteria, and e#emplified the issues necessary to o$erturn prior decisions. %f not Gideon $. &ainwright, one of the cases o$erturned y the !ourt's could ha$e pro$ided the appropriate circumstance. 'or Gideon, it was simply a matter of place, time, and circumstance. &ith the complications, e#ceptions, and particulars of our system of laws and statutes, it is plainly e$ident that no uninitiated layman is sufficient to defend himself against a trained, determined ad$ersary. %n criminal law, that uncomplicated layman, the accused, is e#pected to engage the might of the resources at the disposal of the State, including competent prosecutors and law enforcement agents. Until the Gideon decision, howe$er, the a solute right to counsel was regarded as only applica le in federal (urisdictions, with the se$eral states determining their own protocols for criminal proceedings. %n effect, this led to an ine"uality where y access to counsel was effecti$ely determined y a ility to pay said counsel. )umerous prior decisions indicated that a sence of counsel tended to produce un(ust trials, yet the decision in *etts $. *rady effecti$ely allowed most states to withhold counsel at their discretion. )ot until Gideon $ &ainwright did the Supreme !ourt ha$e an appeal that would allow them to surmount *etts' precedent. +ust as the law is intended to protect the interests of society as a whole, the attorney e#ists to protect the interests of the indi$idual. *y so doing, society remains reasona ly con$inced that

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the standards of the community will e upheld, and (ustice for whole is preser$ed. ,ccess to this assurance, pro$ided y the Si#th and 'ourteenth ,mendments and affirmed to apply to the states y Gideon $. &ainwright, are a critical structure in modern opinions of (ustice and ci$il rights. 'ull access and pro$ision to counsel, e#panded upon y later decisions, help to le$el the playing field and ring alance and e"uality to the ad$ersarial (ustice system em raced y the United States.

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