Gideon's Sixth Amendment Case Study

Passed on September 25, 1789 and ratified on December 15, 1791 by Congress, the eighth amendment has been present in the United States for quite some time. Over time, the amendment has morphed and interpreted differently. In the Constitution it states, “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted”. In the 1990s, individuals referenced the eighth amendment when discussing capital punishment or the death penalty. Death sentences were most frequent during the 1900s, resulting in some individuals declaring that it went against the amendment (Source A).

The Respondent was Louie L. Wainwright, Director, and Division of Correction. It was decided by Warren Court (1962-1965) and it was argued on January 15, 1963 and finally decided on Mach 18, 1963. Gideon was not your normal teenager as he did not spend much time with friends nor did he seem to care much about

At the second trial, Gideon was represented by the attorney W. Fred Turner who won him an acquittal. An immediate consequence of the Supreme Court ruling was that over two thousand Florida prison inmates were released on the grounds that they did not receive a fair trial because their constitutional right to counsel had been denied. Gideon v. Wainwright was one of a number of important Supreme Court rulings that were handed down during the 1960s that provided greater protections to persons accused of a

Gideon v. Wainwright was a Supreme Court case that approached criminal justice around the mid 1950s and 1960s. In certain states criminals were not receiving fair representation in courts, which violated the Sixth Amendment. It wasn’t until the Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright of 1963 that this issue changed. Gideon v. Wainwright was the most controversial and influential the Supreme Court ever took on, due to the fact that it challenged the very way criminals are incarcerated by the court themselves. Earl Gideon was a man with an eighth-grade education, he ran away from home when he was in middle school.

In the first excerpt, I believe that the sixth amendment was proposed as the most sectional out of the several, because as it declares “ No person Who shall hereafter be neutralized shall be eligible as a member of the Senate or House of representative of the United States, nor capable of holding any civil office under the authority of the United States.” This was clearly aimed at Jefferson, a Swiss-born secretary of treasury, furthering the prevention of immigrants and removal of immigrants from roles of power. I also believe that the fifth amendment was the most likely to be adopted (for the time) because it had the inclusion of all and every people, needing the “concurrence of two-thirds of both houses” [key both houses are needed]. This

Gideon’s Trumpet Summary Clarence Earl Gideon was convicted of breaking and entering in a pool room. He went to court and got sentenced to 5 years in the state penitentiary he served 2 years for a crime he did not camet .He sent a letter to the supreme court exercising his right that everyone had to have a lawyer. The supreme court decided to let him retake the court and he was found not guilty. This court session was decided that everyone that couldn't afford a lawyer was guaranteed one .

Again stated, when Gideon became arrested, he was denied his equal right stated in the fifth amendment. Gideon was brought to trial. When he asked for representation, he was deprived of the right to representation at his trial in the state of Florida. The court did not allow him to get an attorney because it was said that you were only allowed for representation if it was a capital case or if you had a mental defect, and because he didn’t have these qualities he was denied for representation.

Amendment six is a very important amendment. If you are charged to be arrested and you don’t think you should be, this is an important right. If you are charged with a crime this amendment gives you the right to a jury that can prove your innocence. You also might not know why you are being arrested but, this amendment gives you the right to know immediately. You also have the right to a lawyer, and if you can’t afford one the government will pay for it.

The case was first heard in Pennsylvania but once that court ruled the law did not violate the first amendment he appealed and took it to the Supreme Court. In this hearing his main argument was that the law was in direct violation with the constitution which did not tolerate religions benefiting from state laws. The court went over the “three main evils” in order to prevent sponsorship, financial support, and involvement of the sovereign in religious activity. The first of those three tests is that the statute has to have a legislative purpose. Second, the principle must not advance or inhibit religion.

I feel strongly about first is the 1st Amendment- which is the freedom of religion and speech and the second one is the 6th Amendment- which is the right to have a trial and a lawyer if charged for a crime. Discuss what would happen if those two Amendments were removed as rights? What would the nation look like? How could the lack of Civil engagement cause those rights to be lost?

Introduction Habeas Corpus, also called The Great Writ, has evolved overtime. It’s origins date back to 1305 when it first appeared. Simply put, Hebeas Corpus is latin for “ you have the body” which is the literal translation. Hebeas Corpus is a writ or order from a judge to someone detaining a prisoner, to bring that person to a specific place and time to determine rather that person has been unlawfully detained and has been given due process. (Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 2011)

The problem arose when the police officers said they had not advised Miranda of his right to an attorney. Miranda’s lawyer was concerned that his Sixth Amendment Right had been violated. This case was noticed by the ACLU and was taken to the Supreme Court. This case raised issues within the Supreme Court on the rights of Criminal Defendants.

Wainwright illustrated the importance of personal rights guaranteed by the constitution. This case began when Clarence Gideon was denied a court appointed lawyer to represent him in a petty crime case. Gideon, unable to afford his own lawyer, was unable to adequately defend himself and consequently was convicted. However, he was undeterred. Gideon then wrote a letter to the Supreme Court to overturn this conviction with the 6th Amendment as his evidence of the court’s misconduct.

There he filed for suit agains the Secretary of the Florida Division of Corrections, who at the time was H. G. Cochran. Cochran retired and was replace by Louie Lee Wainright before the case was heard by the Supreme Court. Having studied in the prison library, Gideon argued in his appeal that he was denied council, and therefore his Sixth Amendment rights, as applied to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment, were violated. Issue: Whether the Sixth Amendment constitutional requirement that indigent defendants be appointed counsel

6th Amendment I personally find that out of all the amendments the most important one is the 6th amendment. Reason being that it is crucial in aiding the judicial process from wrongly persecuting innocent people and it allows our democratic process to continue without preventing innocent people for taking the fall while punishing those who harm it. It keeps justice in check, keeping laws in line and rulings to be fair. The 6th amendment helps the defendants have an attorney when they are unable to afford one.