Gideon Vs Wainwright Case Study

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I have always liked the right to counsel in criminal proceedings; I think this is a fundamental, but yet, forgotten right that we enjoy here in the United States. I think that the right of counsel should be protected because I believe that having counsel puts the defendant against law enforcement officials in an equal playing field. This advantage goes all the way from communication with the police to all the way to the courtroom. Also, the right to counsel is not only just the right to counsel because having the help of a lawyer can inform defendants on more rights, a great example is being advised to remain silent. A landmark case that exemplifies my belief about the right to counsel was on full display in
Gideon v. Wainwright. There are many cases in which the Supreme Court has …show more content…
It still brings up an interesting point that even if this isn’t happening all the time, it still is happening, and wasn’t the purpose of a case like Gideon to eliminate such a thing? I guess this is one of the few problems that were created when Gideon and similar cases were decided. I think, though, that the benefits of being represented by counsel outweigh all the negatives of not having counsel. I have always been a huge advocate of the idea that having a right is better than to not have it. The right to counsel truly is, in my opinion, the best way to level the playing field between the defendant and the law whether the defendant needs one in court, or if they need one before they answer any questions asked by the police. The Supreme Court now fully recognizes that the right to counsel is a fundamental right to a fair trial, and that was the difference between Gideon being a free man and him serving his full term of eight years in prison. Things like this only reminds that the United
States is the greatest country in the world, in my humble

Gideon Vs Wainwright Case Study

From a cramped Florida prison cell in 1963, Clarence Earl Gideon, a penniless drifter, was able to change the lives of nearly 90 percent of all criminal defendants today. After being accused of breaking and entering, Gideon requested an attorney and was denied. Once convicted, Gideon wrote a petition arguing that being denied counsel violated his constitutional rights. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Gideon's favor, in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), holding that the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of…

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Gideon Vs Wainwright Case Study

Gideon v. Wainwright Garland Casey McClure Southwest Tennessee Community College Gideon v. Wainwright The challenge in this case is based on requests being made by the accused, that a counsel be appointed to him. “If the accused is indigent, it is the duty of the State to acknowledge that request and to appoint counsel for the purpose of assisting the accused in the trial of the case.” (Educational Broadcasting, 2006) The Case “Clarence Earl Gideon was convicted by the State of Florida for the…

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Gideon Vs Wainwright Case Study

In the case of Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), Clarence Gideon in 1961 was arrested for burglary at the Bay Harbor Pool Hall in Panama City, Florida, due to accusation of an eye witness. Mr. Gideon was seen in court and asked for counsel to represent him because he could not afford an attorney but the court denied him due to Florida law/status that counsel is only appointed in Capital cases. Gideon was found guilty and sentence to five years in prison. With the only use of the prison library…

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Gideon Vs Wainwright Case Study

2. The Gideon v. Wainwright case is significant in the advancement of the rights of the accused because they can have a fair trial without being denied by their judge and people who aren’t able to afford a lawyer can get one. The case is also significant because they have a right to council. The case changed many states because there were times that attorneys slept during the trial and even drunk. Which shows that some people were given an attorney who isn’t reliable to work on their case. 3. The…

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5 soical issues Essay

power without paying the costs related with covering those protections across the board to minorities and the poor. It is imperative for our students to understand the laws that protect their basic rights as citizens, or it can be misused and in some cases taken away. "Equal justice" means a justice administered in the same way based on the earlier settled law in the Country, or what is called the precedent prevailing. Therefore, no Citizen can be discriminated in the same set of circumstances. Our…

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