Preview

USpreme Court Case Study

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
677 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
USpreme Court Case Study
United States Supreme Court cases are argued and decided on Constitutional grounds. All arguments and decisions are based on interpretations of the original Constitution and, more often, on Constitutional amendments. GIDEON v. WAINWRIGHT In June 1961, Clarence Gideon was arrested and charged with breaking and entering in Bay Harbor. He was tried in a Florida Circuit Court in August 1961. Gideon stated in Court that he was unable to afford a lawyer and asked the Judge to appoint one for him. The Judge said he was sorry but he could not do that, because the laws of Florida called for appointment of counsel only when a defendant was charged with a capital offense [where the death penalty might be imposed]. When the Florida courts denied his claim, he went to the Supreme Court. In his prison he submitted a petition, handwritten in pencil, arguing that Florida had ignored a rule laid down by the Supreme Court: " that all citizens tried for a felony crime should have aid of counsel." Oral arguments were heard on January 15,1962 and the decision was announced on March 18, 1963. However, Gideon was wrong. The rule applied by the Supreme Court at that time was in fact exactly the opposite. The Constitution, …show more content…
Betts was indicted for robbery in a Maryland state court. On arraignment, he told the trial judge of his lack of funds to hire a lawyer and asked the court to appoint one for him. Betts was advised that is was not the practice in the county for indigent defendants except in murder and rape cases. He was founded guilty by the judge, sitting without jury, and was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Betts argued that he had been denied the right to assistance of counsel in violations of the 14th Amendments. Betts was denied any relief, and on review this Court let the lower court-ruling
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Appellant V. Sisuph Case Study
    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Appellant V. Sisuph Case Study

    FACTS OF THE CASE: The Appellant, Director of Finance at Toyota Marin Lou Suriyan Sisuphan, took almost $30,000 in order to persuade the termination of Sisuphan’s coworker Ian McClelland by suggesting that McClelland should be held responsible for the lost money. The Appellant did not have the intention to take this money permanently, and returned the money before any charges were filed, but not within the 24 hour amnesty period that the dealership offered. The dealership terminated Sisphan’s employment, and charged Sisuphan with a “felony offense of embezzlement by an employee of property valued in excess of $400 (§§ 487, subd. (a), 508, & 514) and alleging a prior assault conviction (§ 245, subd. (a)(2)) as a sentence enhancement.”JUDICIAL HISTORY: The trial court found Sisuphan…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Clarence Earl Gideon's Trial
    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Clarence Earl Gideon's Trial

    Clarence Earl Gideon was a man that was wrongfully convicted of a crime. Clarence had a bad background prior to the trial. His record prior was that he had felonies, and he was in jail for four times already, and he ran away from home, and was found with some stolen clothes on. His background didn’t make it easy for him to be found guilty. Gideon was accused of stealing wine, beer, money, and Coca Cola from the pool room. The charges that were brought to him was Petty theft. The evidence the state used against him was that he was seen by a witness breaking into the pool room. The sentencing that Gideon got was 5 years in a working prison. Gideon’s first trial was not in his favor, because he did not have a lawyer defending him, and he didn’t…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    United States Vs Lopez Case Study
    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages

    United States Vs Lopez Case Study

    The United States v. Lopez case was the first United States Supreme Court case since the early 1930’s to create laws that limit Congress’s power. On March 10th of 1992, Lopez brought a handgun into school. When the police asked him if he did bring it , he didn't lie, he said the " yes I did carry the gun".Not a few days later Lopez was charged with violating federal laws which banned guns on all school properties in the United States. Because of what he did , the federal law came with an act called "Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1990".…

    • 445 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gideons Trumpet Chapters 6-10
    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gideons Trumpet Chapters 6-10

    When looking at the overview of the Gideon’s Trumpet movie, it may come across as the Supreme Court helping a man who could not adequately defend himself. However, many of the people involved in the process of getting Gideon’s case to the Supreme Court focus on their own personal agenda. Although none of their motives were corrupt, there were many instances of people looking out for only themselves, a use of classic liberalism. Obviously Clarence Earl Gideon had a reason to appeal to the Supreme Court, because regardless of either innocent or guilty, he believed he was denied his basic right to counsel. As shown in the Gideon’s Trumpet movie, while in prison Gideon kept to himself and with the exception of the one man who had been in prison for 20 years, Gideon did not want to help any of the other inmates. The lawyer assigned to his case was looking to make history by having his case heard by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court Justices were looking for a case to overturn Betts v Brady, and Gideon just happen to be the case that was used. Through this use of…

    • 687 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Discusion Questions His301
    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Discusion Questions His301

    The Supreme Court is supposed to interpret the Constitution as it pertains to each case before the court. These decisions then affect public policy and application of the laws. Sometimes laws can be rendered nullified or unenforceable. In some newer cases that deal with internet or other technologies not present at the time of creation, extend beyond the reach of the Constitution, the Supreme Court must interpret how the Constitutional laws should affect the case. This affects the way U. S. society sees the Constitution as it pertains to them.…

    • 563 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Best Essays

    Gideon Vs Wainwright Research Paper
    • 2715 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Gideon Vs Wainwright Research Paper

    Wainwright in 1963 was the landmark case that resulted in all criminal defendants given the right to have an attorney appointed to them at no monetary cost. Before Gideon v. Wainwright, poor defendants, or those from lower socioeconomic classes, were highly discriminated against, and not given a fair trial when compared to those from higher socioeconomic classes who could afford to hire their own lawyer.…

    • 2715 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Best Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Kent vs Us
    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Kent vs Us

    Kent's lawyer sought to have the criminal indictment dismissed, arguing that the waiver had been invalid. He also appealed the waiver and filed a writ of habeas corpus asking the State to justify Kent's detention. Appellate courts rejected both the appeal and the writ, refused to scrutinize the judge's "investigation," and accepted the waiver as valid. In appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, Kent's attorney argued that the judge had not made a complete investigation and that Kent was denied constitutional rights simply because he was a minor.…

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Civil Liberties, Habeas Corpus, and the War on Terror
    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Civil Liberties, Habeas Corpus, and the War on Terror

    convicted of a crime feels his constitutional rights were violated on the state level. The prisoner…

    • 979 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    In Re Gault
    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In Re Gault

    On the morning of June 8, 1964, the sheriff of Gila County, Arizona took into custody one Gerald Gault, without notifying his parents, after his neighbor, Mrs. Ora Cook, reported receiving a offense and inappropriate phone call from the 15 year old boy. Once his mother found out where he was, the county’s Children’s Detention Home, she was not permitted to take him home. According to Gault, it was his friend Ronald Lewis who made the phone call and once Gault heard Lewis talking on the phone in such a matter he took the phone from Lewis, hung it up, and sent him out the door. Gault was not informed of his charges, he was not given the option to an attorney, he was also not given the opportunity to question of even face his accuser. Once Gault was released from the Detention Center, the Dean center his mother a notification informing her when Gault’s hearing would be. At the hearing, Judge McGhee ruled that the boys behavior was that of an delinquent child and was sentenced to 6 years in a juvenile detention center. After receiving this sentence, his mother went to the Arizona supreme court which “vigorously cross-examined McGhee’s actions. He justified his actions by providing the 2 reasons and their basis as to why the boy was ruled delinquent. The supreme court upheld him, and her appeal, denied. She then went to the supreme court for help. She stated that Gault was not informed of his charges nor was he told of his rights to counsel, to confront the accuser, or to remain silent. She also said that she was not properly informed of the boy’s hearing and the fact that the court admitted a “unsworn hearsay testimony” and did not keep any records of the proceedings. The supreme court ruled 8-1 in Gault’s favor, stating that this was a clear violation of Gerald Gault’s 6th Amendment…

    • 324 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Gideon's Trumpet
    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Gideon's Trumpet

    Gideon did a horrible job of defending himself in court. He was found guilty of breaking and entering and petty larceny, which was a felony. Gideon was sentenced to five years in Florida State prison mostly due to his prior past record. The while he was in prison, Gideon began to study up on the law and he soon came to believe that his sixth amendment rights had been violated. This led Gideon to file a petition for Habeas Corpus with the supreme court in Florida. His petition stated that he had been imprisoned illegally. After the Supreme Court of Florida rejected his petition, he hand wrote a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United…

    • 551 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Gideon's Trumpet Analysis
    • 1446 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Gideon's Trumpet Analysis

    Everyday people around the nation are brought to trial. The litigants may or may not have sufficient resources, but are still entitled to a fair trial under the Sixth Amendment. Clarence Earl Gideon was accused of felony by the state of Florida and did not have the money for attorney representation. Instead, Gideon had to approach the Florida court system blinded by the rules of litigation and unaware of the processes of making an argument. He was helpless and could not win the battle, eventually being sentenced to five years in prison. In America, people are supposed to be treated equal in the eyes of the law, yet Gideon’s circumstance was unjust. As he ultimately reached the Supreme Court of the United States, Gideon was given an attorney. However, here he challenged the state of Florida for his rights. According to Marc Galanter, there is no way that Gideon should have won the appeal in the Supreme Court. Gideon was a one-shooter, lacking resources. Despite Gideon’s loss in the state court, he still won his appeal in federal court system, shaping the law to impact society and showing that “the haves” do not “always come out ahead”.…

    • 1446 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Supreme Court Case Study
    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Supreme Court Case Study

    Gideon asked the Court to uphold his right to appointed counsel during a trial. The Court had made a prior decision on this very question in the case of Betts v. Brady twenty years earlier. The Court determined that refusal to appoint counsel to a destitute defendant on a felony charge in state court did not inevitably violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. In Clarence Gideon’s original Panama City, Florida trial Judge McCrary, Jr. denied Gideon’s request for representation using Betts as…

    • 742 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Importance Of The Sixth Amendment
    • 61 Words
    • 1 Page

    Importance Of The Sixth Amendment

    In the sixth amendment, it says that any suspects in crimes have the right to counsel for their defense. Gideon requested a lawyer and the court denied his request because it was a capital offense. The constitution ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court. The states must provide legal counsel for a person who can’t afford counsel for him or…

    • 61 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Right to Counsel
    • 1808 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Right to Counsel

    The right to counsel is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution. It provides for counsel in phases of a criminal proceeding for anyone who cannot afford one. This wasn’t always the case. Early colonial days did not allow defendants the opportunity to hire their own attorney nor was one appointed. This right has been earned in incremental stages involving several precedent cases. Those cases include Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932), Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458 (1938), Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 321 (1972), and United States v. Wade, 388 U. S. 218 (1967). Today, counsel is guaranteed in all phases of critical pretrial events. Counsel is also guaranteed during post-trial sentencing procedures and in a first appeal to a conviction ensuring the presence, expert advice, and assistance at all stages of a prosecution (Kanovitz, 2010, p. 409).…

    • 1808 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Different Types of Courts in India
    • 1251 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Different Types of Courts in India

    The Supreme Court has original, appellate and advisory jurisdiction under Articles 32, 131–144 of the Constitution.…

    • 1251 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics