Constitutional Law M9 - Essay Example

Therefore, Gideon had to defend himself in the trial. After his guilty was confirmed, he was sentenced to imprisonment for five years. This became a contentious issue which presented this crucial aspect that as protected by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments, the failure by the state court in appointing counsel for Gideon went against his fair trial rights. Conclusion The Court held that Gideon had a right to be represented in court. This was arrived at in a unanimous opinion. The Court found that in this case, for fair trial, the guarantee by the Sixth Amendment of a counsel was a right which was fundamental.

With the absence of counsel assistance, a poor defendant is not guaranteed justice thus the trial would not be fair. Lawyers in criminal courts are not merely luxuries but necessities. In the past, if one was arrested for breaking the law, it was unless you had money that one could have the right to an attorney. This became a right because Clarence Gideon, who was a prison inmate lacking the money for council representation, wrote a personal petition to the Court. Without a lawyer, he managed to take his case to the Supreme Court and winning important rights for all.

It was in 1961, when Clarence Gideon was apprehended for breaking into a pool hall. He was a prime suspect since he had the profile of a law breaker because he was a 51-year old drifter with a criminal record. With little education, since he had not even finished the eighth-grade, he knew two things when he was arrested: (1). He was innocent (2). He would not have a chance to convince a jury of this fact since he did not have a lawyer. Gideon asked the judge to get him legal council to stand for him in court because he was unable to hire one.

The judge refused, then convicted and sentenced him to five years in jail. Gideon utilized his jail time. He first filed a petition before the Supreme Court of Florida but it was denied. Next, he filed a petition in the Court in which he argued that putting him on trial without legal representation was not fair since he was denied his rights as clearly stated in the14th Amendment of the constitution. Since Gideon filed the petition, he was the petitioner while Louie L. Wainwright being the person against whom the petition was filed, was in this case the respondent (a petition against Wainwright was filed by Gideon since Wainwright was responsible for Florida prisons where he was held illegally).

However, 20 years earlier, the Court dismissed the argument that every defendant reserves the right to an attorney. This was the biggest problem for Gideon. Therefore, his appeal hand-written as it was, was requesting the Supreme Court for a change of its mind on the issue. He was fortunate that the Court was ready to consider doing this. At the time of his appeal (1963), almost half of all of those convicted in state courts were not financially capable of hiring a lawyer. A lot of convictions had to be reversed by the Supreme Court Justices because of serious legal errors made after the defendants had been forced to argue out their case in court without legal representation.

Therefore, the Court made a decision to listen to Gideon's petition, and a famous Washington attorney by the name Abe Fortas was appointed to represent him. We later on see that a few years later, Fortas became a member of the Supreme Court. In Gideon v. Wainwright decision1963, the Supreme Court had a unanimous agreement that: any person tried without an attorney can’