JUSTICE PRESENTATION

PRESENTATION

Gideon v Wainwright

Sacha Fritz & Louise Opsital

START

SECTION 1

The context :

« In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. »

Sixth Amendment

« All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, [...] No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.»

Fourteenth Amendment

Cases about the same topic that occurred before Gideon v. Wainwright

Powell v. Alabama

1932

nine teenagers accused of assaulting two women were, one week after being charged, tried on the same day, were convicted in Alabama state court and sentenced to death without counsel

Johnson v. Zerbst

1938

federal criminal cases punishable by imprisonment, counsel must be provided to defendants who are too poor to hire their own counsel, unless the defendant waives this right.

Betts v. Brady

1942

Betts requested a lawyer for himself because he could not afford one but his request was denied

SECTION 2

The case :

SECTION 1

arguments for gideon

• Violation of his constitutional right to fair legal representation
• The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guaranteed the right to fair legal representation, and that this right also applied to state criminal proceedings
• The court had violated his rights by refusing to provide him with an attorney to defend him

• American courts are based on the principle of equality before the law, and that the refusal to provide him with a lawyer created an inequality in criminal defense

Argumrnts for wainwright

• The U.S. Constitution did not guarantee the right to free legal assistance for indigent defendants in state criminal proceedings
• The court system had other protections to ensure a fair trial, including the presence of an impartial judge and the ability for the defendant to defend himself
• The court system could not afford to provide free legal assistance to all indigent defendants in state criminal proceedings because it would place too great a financial burden on local governments

SECTION 3

After the case :

Its consequences :

The Gideon case and the following ones did not have a constitutional impact in terms of creating a constitutional right for legal assistance in civil cases.

Gideon led to the creation of public defender offices and government-provided counsel across the country

impact

The impact of Gideon 60 years later :

Sixty years ago today, the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision in Gideon v. Wainwright. The court held that states must abide by the Sixth Amendment and that those whose liberty is threatened by criminal prosecution have the assistance of an attorney

Thanks!