Vocabulary – Gideon’s Trumpet
What’s in a name? Gideon’s Trumpet
• The name is a play on words, using the
defendant's last name and invoking the biblical
story in which Gideon ordered his small force to
attack a much larger enemy camp. Gideon's army
carried trumpets and concealed torches in clay
pots. When the call to attack came, the noise and
light they made tricked their enemies into
thinking that a much larger army was attacking
them. Thus, Gideon won the battle with little
actual fighting (Judges 7:16-22).
Indigent
• lacking food, clothing, and
other necessities of life
because of poverty; needy;
poor; impoverished.
Felony
• an offense, as murder or burglary,
of graver character than those
called misdemeanors, especially
those commonly punished in the
U.S. by imprisonment for more
than a year
Habeas Corpus
• a writ requiring a person to be
brought before a judge or court,
especially for investigation of a
restraint of the person's liberty,
used as a protection against
illegal imprisonment.
Writ of Certiorari
• a writ issuing from a superior
court calling up the record of a
proceeding in an inferior court for
review.
Due Process
• the regular administration of the law,
according to which no citizen may be
denied his or her legal rights and all
laws must conform to fundamental,
accepted legal principles, as the right
of the accused to confront his or her
accusers.
Affidavit
• a written declaration upon
oath made before an
authorized official.
In Forma Pauperis
• Lat. 'in the form of a pauper.' Someone who is without the
funds to pursue the normal costs of a lawsuit or criminal
defense. Upon the court's granting of this status the person
is entitled to waiver of normal costs and/or appointment of
counsel (but seldom in other than a criminal case).
• It can also refer to a petition filed by a poor person in order
to proceed in court without having to pay court costs such
as filing fees. In most civil cases it does not cover other cost
such as those involved in discovery (depositions, witness
fees, court reporters, etc.) and service of process, except in
rare cases. Also, barring exceptional circumstances such as
some civil rights suits, it does not cover attorney
appointments
Betts v. Brady 1943
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Facts:- The petitioner was indicted for robbery. He was unable to afford a counsel
and he asked the court to assign one for him. The court ruled that it was not the
it's duty to provide the defendant with a counsel, unless he was involved in a rape
or murder case. The defendant was found guilty and was sentenced to 8 years in
prison. The petitioner filed for writ of habeas corpus arguing that his 14th
Amendment rights were violated.
Issue:- Did the 6th and 14th Amendments provide the petitioner with the right to
a counsel?
Holding:- No
Reasoning:- The due process clause does not enforce it upon the states to provide
counsels for defendants in every type of criminal case. According to the court, "...
in the great majority of the States, it has been the considered judgement of the
people, their representatives and their courts that appointment of counsel is not a
fundamental right, essential to a fair trial." Furthermore, the petitioner was
familiar with the criminal justices system, having been convicted of a crime before.
He also waived his right to a jury trial and his trial was conducted by a judge, which
favors the petitioner as far as the fairness of the trial is concerned. So it can not be
determined that the 14th Amendment provided the petitioner the right to a
counsel and without which, a fair justice was not served to him. Affirmed.
Scottsboro Case
• Scottsboro Case. In 1931 nine black youths were indicted at Scottsboro,
Ala., on charges of having raped two white women in a freight car passing
through Alabama. In a series of trials the youths were found guilty and
sentenced to death or to prison terms of 75 to 99 years. The U.S. Supreme
Court reversed convictions twice on procedural grounds (that the youths'
right to counsel had been infringed and that no blacks had served on the
grand or trial jury). At the second trial one of the women recanted her
previous testimony. The Alabama trial judge set aside the guilty verdict as
contrary to the weight of the evidence and ordered a new trial. In 1937
charges against five were dropped and the state agreed to consider parole
for the others. Two were paroled in 1944, one in 1951. When the fourth
escaped (1948) to Michigan, the state refused to return him to Alabama.
In 1976, Alabama pardoned Clarence Norris, who had broken parole and
fled the state in 1946. The belief that the case against the “Scottsboro
boys” was unproved and that the verdicts were the result of racism caused
1930s liberals and radicals to come to the defense of the youths. The fact
that Communists used the case for propaganda further complicated the
affair.
Rule of Four
• The rule of four is a custom of the United States Supreme Court which
dictates that if four justices decide that a case is worthy of being heard,
the Court will agree to hear it. The rule of four is designed to ensure that
the court's majority cannot control which cases are heard, as without the
rule of four, the minority justices might find themselves unable to try
cases of interest.
• This custom was first adopted in 1891, and made public in 1924. The rule
of four does not appear anywhere in the official rules of protocol for the
Supreme Court, but it is taken to be official because it has been practiced
for so long. For members of the public, the rule of four is an assurance
that their cases have a chance to be heard before the Supreme Court,
regardless as to who is dominating it at any particular time.
• The process of getting a case heard before the Supreme Court is quite
complex. The justices review over 7,000 applications each year, and only
agree to hear a handful of these cases. As a general rule, the applications
take the form of a request for a writ of certiorari, a court order which
requests lower courts to send documents and materials relating to the
case to the Supreme Court.