When people think of how government works, unless they’ve taken a government class, they usually think of Congress making laws and the President doing pretty much everything else. No one pays much attention to the Supreme Court unless there is a landmark case or something else to grab the news — like the recent death of Justice Antonin Scalia. But the Supreme Court does much more than you’d think regarding keeping the political machine running like a well-oiled … machine. Through not only interpretation of the law, but also judicial activism, the Supreme Court shows it can have as much influence over the laws of the land as either of the other branches of the federal government. In this paper, I will analyze the decision-making methods of the Court using the cases of Gideon v. Wainwright and Betts v. Brady. …show more content…
Clarence Earl Gideon was an indigent living in Florida who was accused of breaking into the Bay Harbor Poolroom in Panama City, Florida with the intention to commit petty larceny. He had to represent himself at trial since he was poor and Florida did not provide state-funded attorneys for indigents. Once the case was taken up by the Supreme Court, it was affirmed by unanimous decision that anyone had a right to counsel. In Betts v. Brady which Gideon’s case overturned, Betts was an indigent accused of robbery who, when he asked for counsel at his trial, was denied. He later appealed his case up the court system and eventually to the Supreme Court on the grounds that, due to such actions, he had been held illegally. The verdict in Betts v. Brady was that indigent defendants in non-capital state cases were only obligated to be provided with counsel in special
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
the lawyer gathered the facts and then presented them in court. They found gideon not guilty and all charges were
Having unconvinced the jury, Clarence was subsequently found guilty with five years of jail time (Facts par 3). Knowing 2 his constitutional entitlements were violated, Mr. Gideon compiled a series of petitions in an effort to gain his right to counsel (Facts par 4-5). As a result of his righteousness, the case of Gideon v. Wainwright was born. On June 3, 1961, a suspect broke into the Bay Harbor Poolroom and stole beer, wine, and money (David J Shestokas par 10-11).
Clarence Gideon was accused of breaking and entering the bay harbor poolroom. he went to court and was found guilty. he went to prison for two years and he wrote to the supreme court during that time, it was taken in committee and Clarence 's letter helped overturn Brady and now everyone gets a court appointed lawyer if need. his letter was read and he got a second trial because his second was found to be unfair. he won his second trial and got out of jail.
Clarence Earl Gideon was falsely accused of burglarizing a cigarette machine and jukebox inside a poolroom. When Gideon was sent to court to receive his sentence, he had no lawyer, therefore he had to defend himself. Despite his valiant efforts, Gideon was sent to 5 years in prison. While there, Gideon filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus hoping to challenge his conviction. His ability to file for a petition is a positive right, so even though he was not given a lawyer, despite his need and right to one, some of his positive rights—filing a petition—were still upheld.
Throughout history the United States Supreme Court has upheld laws and even struck them down when it came to the constitutionality of a law. In the case of Strickland v Washington, the Supreme Court upheld the Sixth Amendment and said that the right to counsel means the right to competent counsel and if the attorney is not competent than the result of the trial is invalid. In the cases, starting with Powell vs. Alabama (1932), Johnson vs. Zerbst (1938), and Gideon vs. Wainwright (1963) the Supreme Court has recognized the sixth amendment right to counsel does exists. They stated that it is important for the criminal to have right to counsel to ensure that their fundament right to a fair trial is upheld.
The case of Gideon v. Wainwright was argued by the Supreme Court in 1963. This was a Fourteenth Amendment case, centered on the basic right of due process owed to all persons defined in the Constitution of the United States. The facts that contributed to the issue began on June 3rd, 1961. Clarence Earl Gideon was accused by an eyewitness of breaking, entering and committing petty larceny in the Bay Pool Hall in Panama City, Florida. Said eyewitness told the police officer on the scene that he saw Gideon in the pool hall around 5:30 am, and reported to observing Gideon for a time until seeing him come out of the pool hall with a pint of wine.
Imagine yourself struggling with financial problems. You get put into court and was denied an attorney when requested for they believe you can defend yourself with no degree in law at all. When unable to respond properly you get put into jail just cause you couldn’t representing yourself. Well that is what Clarence Earl Gideon experienced and had to argued for on Jan 15, 1963.
As the trial came to a close end the jury announced that Clarence Earl Gideon was guilty, and was convicted five years in prison. While being in jail Gideon filed a petition before the Florida Supreme Court declaring that the State of Florida had proclaimed an unfair case trial by denying him his Sixth Amendment the Right to the Assistance of Counsel. The petition sent to the Supreme Court was denied. Next, Gideon did not fall back; he appealed his case to the U.S Supreme Court claiming that putting him on trial without a lawyer was unfair due to the fact that it denied him due process of law against the 14th Amendment. The U.S Supreme Court came to a conclusion to review Gideon’s case, which
Gideon claimed that the Supreme Court of the United States entitled him to be represented by counsel. Gideon was then denied a lawyer because the state law of Florida states that the court will only give an
The President faces a challenging task when selecting nominees to the Supreme Court. David Yalof point out many problems in the nation, in the branches of government, and the President’s own circle what must be considered when making a nomination. Supreme Court nominees is the most public part of the nomination process. Yalof also states the changes the government has gone through, affecting the selection of Supreme Court nominees. Yalof talks about some Presidents from Truman to Reagan.
We have spoken in this written assignment with the mindset that the founding fathers wanted the judicial system free of political drive but that is not possible, nor was it ever. The image of the Supreme Court not being persuaded by political entities is there only by
Alex Frost Values: Law & Society 9/23/2014 The Hollow Hope Introduction and Chapter 1 Gerald Rosenberg begins his book by posing the questions he will attempt to answer for the reader throughout the rest of the text: Under what conditions do courts produce political and social change? And how effective have the courts been in producing social change under such past decisions as Roe v. Wade and Brown v. Board of Education? He then works to define some of the principles and view points 'currently' held about the US Supreme court system.
The Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics video titled “Key Constitutional Concepts” explores the history of the creation of the United States Constitution in addition to key concepts crucial to the document. Two central themes explored in the video include the protection of personal rights and importance of checks and balances. The video strives to explain these concepts through Supreme Court cases Gideon v. Wainwright and Youngstown v. Sawyer. To begin, the video retraces the steps leading up to the Constitutional Convention in Virginia in 1787. It opens by explaining the conflict that led to the Revolutionary War and the fragility of the new nation.
Decision making in the Supreme Court is a complex and multifaceted process, one that has been both analyzed and scrutinized by various scholars who sought to understand what actually fueled and motivated the choices made by Supreme Court justices. While decision making in the Supreme Court may seem like a basic aspect of Supreme Court processes, understanding why justices make the decisions they do is critical as their interpretation and enforcement of the law affects the hundreds of millions of citizens living in the United States. Among many, two theories are prominent for their evaluations on this process: the strategic theory as described by Lee Epstein and Jack Knight in "The Choices Justices Make," and the attitudinal theory by Jeffrey