Gideon Vs Wainwright Essay

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The United States Supreme Court case of Gideon v. Wainwright was one of the most important cases in US Supreme Court History. The case developed an issue for Congress on whether or not the states are obliged to provide an attorney for defendants in criminal cases who are unable to afford to pay for one. It also created a conflict with whether or not this action should fall under the legal doctrine of the amendments in the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court’s ruling of the landmark case Gideon v. Wainwright helped justified and established defendants right to have representation despite their social class. Clarence Earl Gideon was a white male that made low-income money who was trying to survive the next day, by whatever means necessary. Gideon was arrested on August 4th 1961 for stealing money and alcohol from the Bay Harbor Pool Room in Panama City, Florida. For his trial, Gideon …show more content…
After reviewing all the notes in the case, Justice Black and the court over turned the original decision in favor of Gideon. Black concluded that the original ruling violated the Sixth Amendment that the constitution had a high value of an individual being accused of to have representation to put a fair defense. He also made clear that not only do the federal courts must respect this act but also the state courts as well. This made it more clear and consistent process to enforce state courts to appoint attorneys to defendants who are less fortunate and may not be able to afford one. Another example of another case when they used Gideon v. Wainwright as a reference was in the United States in 1966. It was the case of Miranda v. Arizona that involved criminal suspects that were detained prior to questioning by police authorities to be informed of their constitutional right to an attorney. Since the police didn’t inform them of this, they ruled in favor of suspects since their rights were not read to
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Gideon Vs Wainwright Essay

Gideon v. Wainwright was a case in 1963 that dealt with the sixth amendment. Gideon was charged with breaking and entering with the intent to commit a misdemeanor, which is a felony under Florida law. The Supreme court ruled that any person forced into court has to be appointed counsel for a…

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