 |
United States Supreme Court cases are argued and decided on Constitutional grounds. All arguments and decisions are based on interpretations of the original Constitution and, more often, on Constitutional amendments.
In June 1961, Clarence Gideon was arrested and charged with breaking and entering in Bay Harbor. He was tried in a Florida Circuit Court in August 1961. Gideon stated in Court that he was unable to afford a lawyer and asked the Judge to appoint one for him. The Judge said he was sorry but he could not do that, because the laws of Florida called for appointment of counsel only when a defendant was charged with a capital offense [where the death penalty might be imposed]. When the Florida courts denied his claim, he went to the Supreme Court. In his prison he submitted a petition, handwritten in pencil, arguing that Florida had ignored a rule laid down by the Supreme Court: ' that all citizens tried for a felony crime should have aid of counsel.' Oral arguments were heard on January 15,1962 and the decision was announced on March 18, 1963.
However, Gideon was wrong. The rule applied by the Supreme Court at that time was in fact exactly the opposite. The Constitution, it had held, did not guarantee free counsel to all felony defendants that are unable to retain their own. Since1942, when Betts v. Brady was decided by a divided Court, the problem of defendant's federal constitutional right to counsel in a state court has been a continuing source of controversy and litigation in both state and federal courts. Since Gideon was proceeding without funds, it gave the Justice a chance to think about the constitution. He appointed a counsel to represent him and requested both sides to discuss in their briefs and oral arguments. Should this Court's holding in Betts v. Brady be reconsidered?'
PRECEDENTS
The Supreme Court first dealt with the issue in 1932, in the Scottsboro Case, POWELL v. ALABAMA. DUE PROCESS OF LAW required al least a 'hearing,' Justice GEORGE H. SUTHERLAND said, and the presence of the counsel was ...
We will soon wear you down by our capacity to suffer, and in winning our freedom we will so appeal to your heart and conscience that we will win you in the process. Martin Luther King, Jr. While there have been many persons of importance in the struggle for Civil Rights for black Americans, it would be hard to argue that Dr. Martin...
Robinson Crusoe was a man with very strong will power. He loved the sea, and that is why he started to go on a journey out in the ocean. At first, his parents did not wanted to him to go on a journey, especially out to sea, as his eldest brother, who was lieutenant-colonel to an English regiment of foot in Flanders, was "killed at the battle...
Do revolutions have to have bloody conflicts in them to be called that? The Industrial Revolution is a direct contradiction to that statement; it is the only revolution in history not to have one single drop of blood shed at any time. The Industrial Revolution was a period from 1700-1850 in which new technology was being discovered at an alarming...
Edgar Allan Poe, known as "the father of short stories, " has written many short stories. A few examples are " The Cask of Amontillado, " " The Tell-Tale Heart, " and " The Fall of the House of Usher. " Poe is known all over the world for his eerie, spine-tingling tales of horror. " Reading a story terrifies and delights you" (Sohn,1964,p....
The fascinating Moche period was characterized by a number of developments. Ceramics, textiles and metalwork improved greatly, architectural skills allowed the construction of huge pyramids and other structures and there was enough leisure tune for art and a highly organized religion. The Moche culture, a culture that has left impressive archaeolog...
