The Sixth Amendment, on Trial.
The reason lawyers exist is because some people cannot understand or interpret our laws. Lawyers study for years, and can only assume the practice after taking an oath that they will do what ever they can to defend their client, guilty or not. The sixth amendment stands to grant those of us who do not have a very good understanding of the process of law, with someone who has a very thorough understanding process of law. By not appointing the accused with proper counsel, we run the risk of wrongly convicting an innocent person that could not properly represent themselves in court.
In the Febuary, 1963 trial of Gideon vs. Wainwright, Clarence Gideon was denied counsel by the state of Florida on the basis that he was not being charged with a capitol offence. Gideon was arrested and charged with breaking and entering the Bay Harbor Pool Hall on 3 June, 1961, after a witness claimed to have seen him inside the building. Guilty or not, notes from the trial claim he did a poor job of representing himself. He was then sentenced to five years in the state penitentiary. While there he did research in the prison library, and in turn filed an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court Found no such discrepancy upheld by Florida law between Capitol and Non-Capitol offences. And therefore through the due process of law granted by the sixth amendment, and up-held by the fourteenth amendment, granted him another trial
and proper counsel to represent him. With the proper counsel of W. Fred Turner, Gideon was re-tried and acquitted.
The following excerpt is the ruling of the supreme court as delivered by Justice Black.
- *MR. JUSTICE BLACK DELIVERED THE OPINION OF THE COURT.PETITIONER WAS CHARGED IN A FLORIDA STATE COURT WITH HAVING BROKEN
AND ENTERED A POOLROOM WITH INTENT TO COMMIT A MISDEMEANOR. THIS
OFFENSE IS A FELONY UNDER FLORIDA LAW. APPEARING IN COURT WITHOUT
FUNDS AND WITHOUT A LAWYER, PETITIONER ASKED THE COURT TO APPOINT
COUNSEL FOR HIM, WHEREUPON THE FOLLOWING COLLOQUY TOOK PLACE:“THE COURT: MR. GIDEON, I AM SORRY, BUT I CANNOT APPOINT COUNSEL TO
REPRESENT YOU IN THIS CASE. UNDER THE LAWS OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA,
THE ONLY TIME THE COURT CAN APPOINT COUNSEL TO REPRESENT A DEFENDANT IS
WHEN THAT PERSON IS CHARGED WITH A CAPITAL OFFENSE. I AM SORRY, BUT I
WILL HAVE TO DENY YOUR REQUEST TO APPOINT COUNSEL TO DEFEND YOU IN THIS
CASE.“THE DEFENDANT: THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT SAYS I AM ENTITLED
TO BE REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL.”PUT TO TRIAL BEFORE A JURY, GIDEON CONDUCTED HIS DEFENSE ABOUT AS
WELL AS COULD BE EXPECTED FROM A LAYMAN. HE MADE AN OPENING STATEMENT
TO THE JURY, CROSS-EXAMINED THE STATE’S WITNESSES, PRESENTED WITNESSES
IN HIS OWN DEFENSE, DECLINED TO TESTIFY HIMSELF, AND MADE A SHORT
ARGUMENT “EMPHASIZING HIS INNOCENCE TO THE CHARGE CONTAINED IN THE
INFORMATION FILED IN THIS CASE.” THE JURY RETURNED A VERDICT OF
GUILTY, AND PETITIONER WAS SENTENCED TO SERVE FIVE YEARS IN THE STATE
PRISON. LATER, PETITIONER FILED IN THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT THIS
HABEAS CORPUS PETITION ATTACKING HIS CONVICTION AND SENTENCE ON THE
GROUND THAT THE TRIAL COURT’S REFUSAL TO APPOINT COUNSEL FOR HIM DENIED
HIM RIGHTS “GUARANTEED BY THE CONSTITUTION AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS BY
THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.” (FN1) TREATING THE PETITION FOR HABEAS
CORPUS AS PROPERLY BEFORE IT, THE STATE SUPREME COURT, “UPON
CONSIDERATION THEREOF” BUT WITHOUT AN OPINION, DENIED ALL RELIEF.
SINCE 1942, WHEN BETTS V. BRADY, 316 U.S. 455, WAS DECIDED BY A DIVIDED
COURT, THE PROBLEM OF A 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. (FN2) TO GIVE THIS
PROBLEM ANOTHER REVIEW HERE, WE GRANTED CERTIORARI. 370 U.S. 908.
SINCE GIDEON WAS PROCEEDING IN FORMA PAUPERIS, WE APPOINTED COUNSEL TO
REPRESENT HIM AND REQUESTED BOTH SIDES TO DISCUSS IN THEIR BRIEFS AND
ORAL ARGUMENTS THE FOLLOWING: “SHOULD THIS COURT’S HOLDING IN BETTS V.
BRADY, 316 U.S. 455, BE RECONSIDERED?”
In conclusion, I agree with the ruling of the court. I believe that all crimes should be look at as carefully as possible to avoid wrongful imprisonment. As stated previously, Gideon
Was acquitted after his second trial(with proper counsel), which means he spent nearly a year in jail wrongly accused.
Bibliography:
- http://supcourt.ntis.gov/
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideon_v._Wainwright
