Gideon's Trumpet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gideons Trumpet - Essay ExampleIt includes an evaluation of the appeal of the wrick to me, whether that appeal was on a arranged or an emotional level. The paper weighs in on whether this work to me is worth recommending to others or not, what I would tell them prior to and after reading the work (Lewis Sessions). II. sum-up In Gideons Trumpet we entertain the story of Clarence Earl Gideon, who in the account of Lewis launched a campaign through the letters to the Supreme Court for the right to have counsel for his case. On the one hand this is the key thread of the book, although a parallel thread looks at the general process for appeals in the Supreme Court. At the heart of the story, meanwhile is Gideons letter to the Supreme Court asking the court to essendially have his theft conviction overturned on the root of his not having been assigned a lawyer during his trial. Gideon was then in his fifties at that time. Prior to his larceny conviction, for which he wrote the Suprem e Court asking for justice, Gideon had been sent to prison four other times, for various felonies. As a man Gideons problem was related to his being unable to hold d throw work for any attached time, so that he drifted, and supported himself by occasionally engaging in petty thievery, as well as gambling. The impression that community who got to know him personally though, including the authorities, was that he was a harmless man, who had been marginalized by society (Lewis Sessions). At the heart of the argument of Gideon, it is said, is the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution, and whether or not the amendment clause relating to due process translated to a right to counsel for those accused of felony crimes. This has been deemed a federal concern and thus a candidate for hearing by the Supreme Court, Gideon having complied with the file requirements for very poor petitioners such as himself. With the Supreme Court having determined that it is in their jurisdiction to hear G ideons case, they then proceed to assign a lawyer to act as counsel to Gideon before the Supreme Court, in the person of a top lawyer named Abe Fortas. Betts v Brady was deemed as an important power case to be considered in deciding on Gideons petition and the right to counsel doctrine under the Fourteenth Amendment. There is a chapter that further explores the Supreme Court judges individual stands on following precedent or interpreting the literal meaning of the Constitution and striking down laws and precedents that contradicted the letter of the Constitutional law. This is a prelude to Fortas crafting a strategy for Gideons defense, and looks at the nuances of judges arriving at their decisions at the level of the Supreme Court. On the other hand, face at Gideons case in greater detail, the reader is introduced to certain facts, including that he had been charged with breaking and entering as well as larceny in connection with the Poolroom at Bay Harbor facility in June 1961, in the community where he lived at the time, the Bay Harbor Community. Gideons own assessment of his fate with the justice system in Florida is that of a system that essentially was prejudicial in its application of the process against those who are marginalized. This assessment is given by Lewis together with the narration that Gideon had been exemplary in his behavior in prison, often being of aid to those who had problems with dealing with the legal aspects of their crimes (Lewis Sessions).