Gideon’s Trumpet
Gideon’s Trumpet is the true story of a man named Clarence Earl Gideon, a semiliterate drifter who is arrested for burglary and petty theft. The book takes it’s readers back through one man’s moving account that became a constitutional landmark. Gideon’s Trumpet was written to recall the history behind the Gideon v. Wainwright court case and how it made such an enormous impact on United States law.
On the night of June 3, 1961, Clearance Gideon broke into a pool room and smashed a cigarette machine and a juke box, taking some money from both and cigarettes. Later that morning a witness reported seeing Gideon break into the pool hall. The police found him a few hours later with a pint of wine and some spare change, he was arrested and charged with breaking and entering.
At his trial Gideon could not afford a lawyer, so he asked the judge to appoint him one, Gideon argued that the Court should appoint him one because the Sixth Amendment says that everyone is entitled to a lawyer. The judge turned down his request, saying that the state did not have to pay a poor person's legal defense unless he was charged with a capital crime or that "special circumstances" existed. Gideon was left to represent himself in court.
Gideon did a horrible job of defending himself in court. He was found guilty of breaking and entering and petty larceny, which was a felony. Gideon was sentenced to five years in Florida State prison mostly due to his prior...
middle of paper ... ... Works Cited "Gideon v. Wainwright (No. 155).". legal information institute, LII. Cornell University Law School, n.d. Web.
After pleading his case to the Supreme Court, Gideon proved that his rights had been infringed upon and was granted the opportunity for a lawyer to defend him. Not only did Gideon have a lawyer in this third trial, but his defense was solid as a rock. With a proper defense Gideon proved that without a doubt he was innocent. His lawyer also made the main witness look guilty himself, something Gideon would not have been able to do on his own. Having legal representation proved to be a major asset for Gideon and the have-nots, and that having a lawyer can change the decision on a case. In this situation, the have-nots came out on top
How would you feel if you defected to another country and spent the rest of your life under Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) protection out of fear of Soviet reprisals? This is exactly what Igor Sergeyevich Gouzenko faced in September of 1945 when he and his family defected to Canada. Igor Gouzenko stole over 100 documents that he had accumulated from his time working as a cipher clerk at the Soviet Embassy in Ottawa, Canada. These documents implicated that Canadians were involved in espionage against their own country and detailed the efforts of a Soviet spy ring in Canada. Subsequently, I will emphasize Igor Gouzenko’s life, Canada’s involvement in the early Cold War period when he defected to Canada, and his involvement in some of the central events at the beginning of the Cold War in this
George Atzerodt did not have a fair trial. Some people might say that the trial was fair. Consequently his trial was not fair was because it was a time of war so the trial had military officer. The military officer were from the union and George Atzerodt was from the confederate. This made the trial unjust because the military officer were union biased and they wanted George Atzerodt to lose. Another reason why the trial is unfair was because the trial conducted by the said Judge Advocate General as recorder aided by Assistant and Special Judge Advocate as he made designate. The
This story was not only riveting, but also one that kept me on my heels for almost the entire time that I was reading it. Stephen B. Oates, a prize-winning author of thirteen books and more then seventy articles, is currently a professor of history at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Some of his best novels have been 'With Malice Toward None: The Life of Abraham Lincoln,'; 'Let the Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther King. Jr.,'; and 'Rip Ford's Texas.'; His writing is riveting as well as courageous. His willingness to get to such length to capture the mind of the reader and hold them in suspense has earned him several awards throughout his lustrous career. Some of the awards that Oates has received are the Christopher Award and the Barondess/Lincoln Award of the New York Civil War Round Table. His work has gained worldwide notoriety and is currently translated in four different languages: French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Clarence Earl Gideon asked for an attorney when tried and found guilty of a minor offense, he was then denied, found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison. The perspective is entirely focused on the legal issues surrounding the case, and it gives an overall look at societal and legal trends during the 1960s. The final chapter is utilized to make a general statement about the role of the Supreme Court in American society. Lewis concludes the book with an argument that he makes in the beginning of the book, his belief that the Court both reinforces and shapes the values of society. Like the case, Gideon’s Trumpet is an instrumental to American society. It can be argued however, that the work may be too dense. At 250 pages it includes multiple court cases, examples, Supreme Court cases and rulings from around the world. There are aspects that humanize the story, like Gideon’s original hand-written petition to the Court (p. 4), Gideon’s letter to his attorney telling the story of his life (p. 47-58), Gideon’s life as described in chapter seven (p. 100-106). It is an interesting read on the appellate process and is very much educational and
Claude M. Steele is the author of “ Whistling Vivaldi”, which mainly represents that the meaning of identity contingencies and stereotype threat, and how can these effect people’s ideas and behaviors. By writing this article, Steele tries to make people know exist of identity contingencies. Gina Crosley-Corcoran, who is a white woman suffered the poverty in her childhood. Through describing her miserable experiences in parallel construction to motivate readers sympathize her, moreover approving that she can as a powerful evidence for affirming the impact of identity contingencies. Crosley-Corcoran admits the white privilege really exist in some way in her article “ Explaining White Privilege to a Broke White Person”, and white privilege
He uses specific tone through his text his tone is meant to inform and persuade giving him creditability towards his argument. He uses pathos through his text by saying the way music makes people feel a certain way and understand the argument making it stronger, he also uses the story of his mothers death to play with the readers emotions. He uses words like ghetto, Blacks, love , soul, gangsters, etc to show persuade the audience and she if the emotions of the reader would be affected. He then brings in ethos by using creditable mentions of Fetty Wap and statistics like “At the time of this writing, “Trap Queen” is the #2 song in America. To have the #2 song in America is to hit pretty much every demographic…” To provide the audience a sense of trust with him making his argument gain power. He also includes tweets to validate his argument and create stronger support from his intended audience and giving the audience a sense of
When working with a court appointed lawyer you need to research and follow up on guidelines that carry with your charge. You have to learn how the court system works. Lawyers that are hired by the court to represent the low and middle-income people are lazy in doing their job. There are many reasons why court appointed lawyers don't do their best for their clients involving the court cases.
Baldwin executed a well written short story by making the point of view through the eyes of Sonny’s brother. The setting made the story realistic, and the themes were powerful and influential. Though Sonny had struggles in life along with the rest of the family, he is able to redeem himself through his music. “Sonny’s fingers filled the air with life, his life. But that life contained so many others. And Sonny went all the way back, he really began to make it his.”
Cynthia Barnett and Peter H. Gleick both address the business behind the bottled water industry. In “Business in a Bottle”, Barnett explains how the bottled water industry started, how the industry is struggling with the law regarding drawing its water from natural resources, and how it uses its marketing to imply the false location on where they got the water (128-138). Barnett then concludes that the bottled water industry helps economy with the job opportunities they provided and that consumers do not really care about the content of their bottled water because all they care about are the “convenience, the packaging, and the price” (141). On the other hand, in “Selling Bottled Water: The Modern Medicine Show”, Gleick
Many have always questioned if bottled water or tap water is better for themselves and the environment. Bottled water has many conveniences and is needed, or even wanted, by many people in the United States and all over the world. Water bottles is just not a want for some, it is a necessity. This essay will convince you of the reasons why bottled water is superior to tap water. Not only will you find out why it is superior but why it is important to always have bottled water available to everyone.
Many argue the fact that commercialized labeled brands of bottled water have offered choices to people that tap water does not. Although most people often rely on these particular brands of bottled water, most are unaware that some companies are simply using unfiltered-tap water at a much higher charge. Bottled water is averagely sold either individually or in packs of 24 or more at your local grocery store ranging from three to five dollars. This is a high cost not just to one’s pocket but to our waste and
Zhang, J. (2009, July 13). More Scrutiny Urged for Bottled Water . Retrieved April 19, 2014, from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203577304574276473594279310?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052970203577304574276473594279310.html
There was a big change in 1963 when the landmark case Gideon v. Wainwright transformed the way state courts applied the right to counsel to indigent defend...