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Influential Supreme Court Case: Gideon vs. Wainwright

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There have been several different Supreme Court cases over the years that have been influential to most everybody who is aware of them. For example, the case of Roe vs. Wade was and still is immensely influential and is the cause of pro-life/pro-choice debates. Another important case was Marbury vs. Madison, which was the first Supreme Court case to ever declare that a law passed by Congress was unconstitutional. Even though those two cases were a couple of the most important and influential in American history nothing compares to the influence that the case of Gideon vs. Wainwright has provided, in my opinion. This case was tremendously important to the way that law enforcement is to be carried out in that it forced detectives and FBI’s and the like to “do their homework” before declaring someone guilty of a crime. Although this case was very influential on the way police forces carry out their duties, I think the case was mostly important in that it forced all courts in the U.S. to have a greater recognition of the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution and the story of the victim involved in this case.

Clarence Earl Gideon was born on August 30, 1910 in the state of Hannibal, Missouri. His father’s name was Charles Gideon and his mother’s was Virginia Gideon. In 1913 Charles Gideon died just a few days after the third birthday of Clarence. Virginia remarried a man named Marion Frances Anderson when he was five. After this second marriage Clarence became siblings with Roy E Ogden, his half-sister and a half-brother named Russell Lee Anderson. Clarence thought his step-father was a really good man, despite being uneducated. This was, of course, the case until Clarence reached the eighth grade of school in Hannibal. His...

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...ectives to actually do their job before accusing somebody of a crime.

Works Cited

"Gideon v. Wainwright (No. 155)." legal information institute LII. Cornell University Law School, n.d. Web. 12 Jan 2012. http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0372_0335_ZS.html.

"Gideon v. Wainwright." Wikepedia. wikipedia, 14 N. Web. 12 Jan 2012. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideon_v._Wainwright

"Milestone Cases in Supreme Court History." infoplease. Pearson Education, 2007. Web. 12 Jan 2012. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0101289.html

"Gideon V. Wainwright (1963)." English Language Programs. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, n.d. Web. 12 Jan 2012. http://eca.state.gov/education/engteaching/pubs/AmLnC/br67.htm

Krajicek, David. "Clarence Earl Gideo." Wikipedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clarence_Earl_Gideon
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