Influential Supreme Court Case: Gideon vs. Wainwright Essay

     On the night of June 3, 1961, Clearance Gideon broke into a pool room and smashed a cigarette machine and a juke box, taking some money from both and cigarettes. Later that morning a witness reported seeing Gideon break into the pool hall. The police found him a few hours later with a pint of wine and some spare

The Court of Appeals reversed and filed a petition for certiorari. The Supreme Court held that: "(1) apprehension by use of deadly force is a seizure subject to the Fourth Amendment's reasonableness requirement; (2) deadly force may not be used unless it is necessary to prevent the escape and the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a

Did the state court's failure to appoint a lawyer for Gideon violate his right to a fair trial and due process of law as protected by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments?

A lot of court cases are historically important and sometimes they the result in changing certain laws. For example, the Brown v. Board of Ed court case ended racial segregation in the U.S., and the Gideon v. Wainwright case required the state to provide low-income defendants with an attorney if they could not afford one. These two cases changed the Federal Constitution against racism and made it possible for all citizens to have the same rights in Untied State, and everyone experiences these changes on a daily basis. Another court case made a change in the Federal Constitution is Tinker v. Des Moines. Tinker v. Des Moines court case took a big part during the Vietnam War because it brought even more attention to the

Gideon v. Wainwright is a Supreme Court case that occurred in 1963 which questioned the defendant’s right of the sixth amendment. If it was not for a man in his prison cell that wrote to the Supreme Court, the United States court systems would not be the same today. Clarence Gideon was arrested because he stole money from a pool hall’s vending machines. At trial he could not afford an attorney and was not appointed counsel. If it was not for Gideon who wrote to the Supreme Court petitioning his constitutional rights he would have never had the opportunity to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. Although Clarence Gideon was an uneducated and poor citizen, he still was able to petition his constitutional rights to the United States Supreme court in order to achieve a truly fair trial. He ended discrimination in the courts against the poor who cannot afford their own counsel.

Facts:          On October 3, 1974, Memphis Police Officers Hymon and Wright were dispatched to answer a “prowler inside call.” When the police arrived at the scene, a neighbor gestured to the house where she had heard glass breaking and that someone was breaking into the house. While one of the officer radioed that they were on the scene, the other officer went to the rear of the house hearing a door slam and saw someone run across the backyard. The suspect, Edward Garner stopped at a 6-feet-high fence at the edge of the yard and proceeded to climb the fence as the police officer called out “police, halt.” The police officer figured that if Garner made it over

Also commonly referred to as The Steel Seizure Case, it was a United States Supreme Court decision that limited the power of the President of the United States to seize private property in the absence of either specifically enumerated authority under Article Two of the US Constitution or statutory authority conferred on him by Congress. The Majority decision was that the President had no power to act except in those cases expressly or implicitly authorized by the Constitution or an act of Congress.

Supreme Court Case Sheppard V. Maxwell is the first case in American history to question whether the American right to a fair trial should be interrupted by the American right to freely publish one’s thoughts and opinions. Sheppard’s conviction, brought on by the biased eye of the press, was exonerated. However, concluded from the lack of policy alterations post-trial, the Sheppard V. Maxwell case still informally decided media is no real threat in the court system. Some may say otherwise. Although media may not directly affect court rulings, the press can certainly affect the public’s opinion, which in turn can affect a court case.

On June 3, 1961, Gideon broke into the Bay Harbor Poolroom in Panama, Florida. Some beer, wine, and money were missing with the damaged cigarette and juke machine. He was arrested for breaking and entering because a witness said he saw him stealing and breaking items from the store. Gideon was poor, so he could not afford a lawyer; therefore, he asked the judge to appoint him one. However, he was not entitled to a lawyer based on how poor he was. For this reason, he had to defend himself by calling witnesses to help him, but the witnesses preside with the other side more than his.

The Supreme Court has looked over many cases, all making life changes and some making no difference in the world. The case Texas vs. Johnson uproared so many political arguments, amendment arguments, and even country disputes. This case was and is still so important because it brought of the basis of the government's beliefs against an individual. The government and many military personales found it offensive, but the key to liberty is free

Wainwright case was a landmark in the evolution of the criminal justice system as well as the evolution of person rights. Although it is a common phrase, the fact “innocent until proven guilty” is not always enforced in the criminal justice system. This leaves room for people awaiting trial to endure mistreatment, whether they are guilty or not. The mistreatment of these people can sometimes leave room for an innocent person be charged due to the lack of resources provided. Before the Gideon v. Wainwright case, it was not common practice for courts to appoint attorneys for the defendant. Although it was easier to charge someone with a crime they committed without a lawyer present, it also left room for innocent people to be convicted of crimes they did not commit. This also raises the question of: is it worth innocent lives to catch the majority of guilty criminals? The sixteenth amendment states that “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to …have the assistance of counsel for his defense”. Due to the fact that it is not explicitly stated that the court is required to provide the defendant a lawyer, it was hardly common practice to do so. After the Gideon v. Wainwright case, it became more common for the court to appoint lawyers to defendants. This change in practice continued the positive evolution of individual rights, even those being convicted of

Brown V. Board of Education is commonly considered the most important case to date regarding education and civil rights. Education as we know it, would be completely different if The Supreme Court had not ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. I am confident that another case would have come along and changed it later had they not won this case. History would be completely different regarding the war on Civil Rights if things had gone differently. Until this case, many states implemented laws mandating separate schools for white and black students. This historical case made the previous laws established during the former Plessy V. Ferguson case unconstitutional.

Every American citizen has access to they’re Bill of Rights, these rights list specific prohibition on governmental power. In Gideon’s case he asked if he could have a counsel to defend him in court which in this case he could because the sixth amendment guarantees that in any criminal case the defendant has a right to be represented by an attorney general. The Florida court denied his request and sentence Gideon to jail. This was unconstitutional of the court to strip away this man’s rights, it violated his sixth amendment and did not receive a fair

Born on August 30, 1910, Clarence Gideon was the son a shoemaker who passed away before his third birthday, and was raised by a strict mom with a boyfriend that Gideon did not get along with. At the young age of fourteen, California was Gideon’s destination after running away from his home in Missouri. It was only after a year when Gideon found himself back in Missouri. Upon his return to Missouri, the text states, “When his mother learned that he was living with his uncle near Hannibal, she had him arrested” (The State Historical). After escaping from jail during the winter, Gideon broke into stores to try and find warm clothes and keep warm, leading to one of his early arrests and conviction of stealing (The State Historical). In his troubled early life, Clarence Gideon frequently found himself in trouble with the law. Gideon managed to cut his time in the prison short, after he was released on parole after a year. Soon after, he found a job at a shoe factory making a good load of money. Gideon was in trouble with the law once again after he lost his job and served more jail time, as the text states, “He was found guilty of robbery, burglary, and larceny and sentenced to ten years in the Missouri State Penitentiary” (The State Historical). Gideon served a long 3 years and four months in prison before being released in January 1932, and during this time, America was in the midst of the Great Depression.

The Supreme Court of the United States of America often makes decisions, which change this great nation in a great way. These changes can affect society in many different ways. In many instances there is dissonance over their decisions and the court itself is often split as to how the views are looked upon. The effect of the Courts decision generates discourse and on occasion, violence. This is what happened in the case of Miranda v. Arizona in 1966. This case changed the history of this country and left a tremendous impact, which many challenge, the ruling and still protest today.