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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 5 page research paper that discusses Gideon’s Trumpet by Anthony Lewis, which is an expertly written, comprehensive account of a landmark case in constitutional law, Gideon v. Wainwright, which was heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1963. Clarence Earl Gideon was a prisoner in the Florida penal system who felt that his constitutional rights had been violated because his request for a court-appointed lawyer at this trial was denied. Lewis’ book tells how Gideon succeeded in taking his case before the Supreme Court and, in so doing, this text illustrates how—while there are flaws in the American system of jurisprudence—it works because it has mechanisms in place for correcting errors. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_khgidcon.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
the U.S. Supreme Court in 1963. Clarence Earl Gideon was a prisoner in the Florida penal system who felt that his constitutional rights had been violated because his request for
a court-appointed lawyer at this trial was denied. While many legal minds at the time agreed with Gideon on this point, according to the law, courts were allowed to
appoint a lawyer only under specific and unusual circumstances. Lewis book tells how Gideon succeeded in taking his case before the Supreme Court and, in so doing, this text illustrates
how-while there are flaws in the American system of jurisprudence-it works because it has mechanisms in place for correcting errors. The book shows how the U.S. Supreme Court corrected an
injustice perpetuated by a previously made poor court decision with its ruling in the Gideon case. In Betts v. Brady (1942), the Court ruled that indigent defendants, that is,
those individuals who could not afford to hire a lawyer, should be supplied with a court-appointed lawyer in capital cases or when there were special circumstances, such as complicated charges,
or when incompetence on the part of the defendant or illiteracy were factors. However, since Gideon claimed no special circumstances in his request for a lawyer, and it was not
a capital case, Gideons request did not fit the parameters of Betts. In the early chapters of his book, Lewis provides this background and also describes how Gideon researched the
law and submitted his case for Supreme Court review. Carefully handwritten on prison stationary, Gideons request followed all of the rules required to be considered by the Court as an
forma pauperis case, which means that the usual filing fees for such a petition were waived (Lewis 4). By taking advantage of the legal procedure in place, Gideon was essentially
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