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

Gideon's Trumpet - Essay Example It includes an evaluation of the appeal of the work to me, whether that appeal was on a logical 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. Summary In ‘Gideon’s Trumpet’ we have 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 Gideon’s letter to the Supreme Court asking the court to essentially have his larceny conviction overturned on the basis 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 Supreme Court asking for justice, Gideon had been sent to prison four other times, for various felonies. As a man Gideon’s problem was related to his being unable to hold down work for any given time, so that he drifted, and supported himself by occasionally engaging in petty thievery, as well as gambling. The impression that people 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 filing requirements for very poor petitioners such as himself. With the Supreme Court having determined that it is in their jurisdiction to hear Gideonâ₠¬â„¢s 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 precedent case to be considered in deciding on Gideon’s 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 Gideon’s defense, and looks at the nuances of judges arriving at their decisions at the level of the Supreme Court. On the other hand, looking at Gideon’s 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 a t Bay Harbor facility in June 1961, in the community where he lived at the time, the Bay Harbor Community. Gideon’s 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).