Analyzing the Gideons Trumpet - Movie Review Example

Gideon’s Trumpet Introduction In the movie’ Gideon’s Trumpet “Clarence Earl Gideon faces courts trial for an offence he did not commit. During the trail, the court gives him a lawyer even though he does not require one. The setting of the movie recounts to the examination of the constitution and the necessary modifications since it portray the procedures of the constitution, that the law is superior to every person. The Fifth Amendment states the due procedures of the law. According to the due procedure of law, the law protects life, offers freedom or affluence. As the movie unfolds, Gideon is put behind bars, faces trail in the court of law and then imprisoned. Another significant thing to know about the procedures of the law is that, the law is above everyone, and this is defined under the 14th amendment. It falls under the clause referred as the Equal Protection Clause. According to this clause, everyone must receive justice as stipulated by the law. In the movie, this clause is reflected when; Gideon appears before Abe Fortas to get an appellate. Abe Fortas applies this clause to illustrate that a common person needs a lawyer. Together with that, attorney’s rights are not in the statute. Amendment 6th and 14th defines attorneys’ rights. According to this statute, the court of law should provide a lawyer, in case the defendant is unable to hire one. Gideon fought for the right of getting a lawyer from the state. With the assistance from Abes Fortas, Gideon managed to petition to the Supreme Court, and the appeal was successful. He was to have another trial, and the state gave him a lawyer and he was innocent. Lastly, for fair judgment, there should be change venue. In the second trial, Gideon wished to have his trial in other venues in order to receive fair judgment from different people. This paper shall discuss “Gideon Trumpet” with a view of evaluating the right to counsel. First, the plot of the movie shall be discussed while giving thoughts and opinions about the plot. Plot Description Clarence Earl Gideon is a five decades white citizens and he argues that his first trial was unjustified, since he was supposed to be given a lawyer, but an attorney was not signed for him. Gideon was quite certain he was denied his right and in retaliation, he petitioned in the Supreme Court. He wanted to know the conditions that necessitate one to have an attorney. Similarly, there is an on ongoing case about Betts vs. Brady, which is a 21 tears decision of the Supreme Court. The lower courts’ decisions are overruled by the Supreme Court decision, which holds that Bets of Mary was not provided with the attorney during his trial. During Maryland’s’ trial, an attorney was given to a person who was unable to hire a Lawyer, but this was only possible if the cases was classified under rape or murder. Having such a decision on hand, the Supreme Court held that, cases that were not classified under ‘rape or murder’ could not take advantage of having a lawyer provide by the state. These cases were classified as special cases, and it was held that, a lawyer was necessary if the defendant was regarded as uneducated, uninformed, having a mental disease of encountering an intricate situation. A major challenge with the special rule implemented was that, uneducated person was not entitled to petition for a case. The issue was very twisty that, uneducated person who does not get the advantage of getting an attorney was not capable of petitioning for case since he was incompetent in filling paperwork. Gideon was excluded from this provision and his insistence assisted him in filling for an appeal in the Supreme Court. It is very imperative to recognize the social and legal environment applied. Most of the appeals subject to “right to counsel issue” and the Supreme Court accept the petitions on different grounds. It is difficult for the Supreme court to implement a precise rule over that matter, and this means that, trials held by the lower courts are always overruled incase an appeal succeeds. There is always a conflict between the Supreme Court and the lower courts pertaining to the matters of appellate cases. Together with that, the court of law is taking a new initiative on the way rights of individuals supersedes the rights of the government. Lastly, there is a continuing debate between Federalism and States’ rights and some people believe that, the state is entitled to decide on how to control the criminal court system. When the state attorney is given an opportunity to talk about the matter, most people who support the rule, make statements that back up the idea of court cases having an attorney. They argue that an individual holds numerous rights than the state. In addition, they claim that, a petitioner having an attorney means that justice will prevail, since two lawyers handle the situation. In Gideon’s case, the court offers him a new trial based on his case that the state must provide an attorney for him. Gideon prefers selecting the attorney that is knowledgably about his circumstance and Gideon is found innocent of stealing from a poolroom from Florida. When he is asked if attained anything from the case and the attorney, he claims that the attorney was helpful to him. After Gideon’s case, every state established the rule of giving an attorney to the defendants whenever they are tried. Thoughts and opinions on the plot Based on the powers held by the Supreme Court and the decisions it makes, the lower court is subject to the supreme and must adhere to the decisions made by the higher court in the hierarchy. Accepting petition from the defendants does not mean that, the case was wrongly handled, but the defendant is given an opportunity to present his argument in case in order for the ruling to be justified. It is not obvious that every petition goes through, in fact at some point, the lower court may have imposed a smaller punishment than required and the Supreme Court find it necessary to intensify the punishment. For this reason, few people are familiar with the court procedures and terminologies and that is the reason an attorney is required in order to direct the defendant of the court proceedings. Obtaining an attorney is expensive, and the constitution mandates that in such circumstances, it is the responsibility of the state to assign an attorney on behalf of the defendant. Based on this and other decisions made the court, when a person is charged with an offence, and the person is unable to obtain counsel, it is the role of the state to furnish the defendant with an attorney. However, an attorney to the defendant is not a right, and it is not significant in fair ruling. The courts in Betts v. Brady amended the older precedents in order to include those people that could not take care of themselves in court proceedings. This helps in instituting a justified system of justice. This explains the reason as to why the uneducated, poor people and intellectually challenged individuals require a lawyer when under a trail. This means that in absence of an attorney, and then the court system will have a biased ruling since the defendant may not understand the court proceedings. In essence, a person who is extremely poor will always receive unfair trials if not capable of hiring a lawyer. This is an apparent truth. Governments, in particular, the federal and the state invest many resources into establishing resources to use in prosecuting defendants accused of offences. Conclusion In conclusion, the movie’ Gideon Trumpet’ is about Clarence Gideon, an aged man who faces law for a crime he did not commit. Gideon is victimized of theft but he is later proved innocent. According to the constitution, it is the right of every defendant to have a counsel to direct him/her during the court proceedings. However, based on the precedents, an attorney was only resourceful for cases that were termed special by the constitution. In this context, special cases encompassed only cases that fall within rape and murder. Any other case outside this classification, the defendant would find an attorney. References Fonda, H, Houseman, J. Gideons Trumpet. Lewis, A (1964).Gideons Trumpet, New York: Random House. A portion of the opinion of the Supreme Court in Gideon v. Wainwright 372 U.S. 335 (1963) Read More