The sixth amendment to the United States Constitution is a simple aspect of the constitutional rights of the offenders. It means that if someone is charged with accusations for committing a serious crime and facing a punishment, he/she has the right to have a lawyer to assist in his/her defense. A very substantial part of this concept is if the individual cannot afford to hire such, the offender has to be offered a qualified counsel at public expense. The offender must be notified about this constitutional right at his/her detention along with the rest of the rights that are obligatory announced to him/her before any investigation has started. The idea is that no one has to be tried and punished without a fair process.
The nowadays understanding of the Right to Counsel stems from the case Webb v. Baird (6 Ind. 13) (1942) where the Supreme Court in Indiana, based on “the principles of a civilized society” (Webb v. Baird, 1942), recognized the right to counsel at public expenses for the poor. During the 20th century the lawyers developed the volunteer help for indigent people accused for serious crimes. The first Legal Aid Society was established in New York as early as 1896 to provide the poor immigrants with legal counseling. The first public law office for public defense was opened in 1914 in Los Angeles. It has to be mentioned that such services were offered in the large cities. (NLADA, 2011, n. p.)
The Sixth Amendment right to counsel was gingerly developed by the Supreme Court of the United States during the 20th century. The well-known “Scottsboro Case”, Powel v. Alabama, where two black boys were accused with rape of two white girls, became famous also with the decision of the court that in the capital state’s proceedings a counsel is required. (Powel v. Alabama, 1932)
That decision was not enough because in Betts v. Brady (1942), the Court declined a request for the extension of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel to the proceedings of state felony. The courts went on declining the requests for the extension of the Sixth amendment right to all state felony proceedings till the landmark case Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963 when the right of counsel was established in all aspects of criminal state proceedings and “the Court unanimously held that an indigent person accused of a serious crime was entitled to the appointment of defense counsel at state expense.” (NLADA, 2011)
Clarence Earl Gideon was spending his time as a drifter, going in and out of jails, committing non-violent crimes. He ran away from his home when he finished eighth grade of school and started his adult life almost in the streets. After one of these incidents he was charged with “breaking and entering with the intent to commit a misdemeanor, which is a felony under Florida law.” (US Court, n. d.) During the trial he asked for a counsel because he could not afford one, but his request was declined by the judge. He represented himself at the trial and he was convicted to five years in prison. He filed a petition from prison to the Florida Supreme Court explaining that his constitutional rights were violated by not appointing a lawyer at public cost and his petition was denied. Later he petitioned the United States Supreme Court that agreed to hear the case. The issue was a prior Court’s decision, Betts v. Brady, (1942), where the court refused to appoint counsel for a poor defendant. It was based on the opinion that the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment was not violated. The Supreme Court agreed to hear Gideon’s case, reviewing the lower court’s decision and to decide whether the Bett’s case should be reconsidered. The Court agreed that the Sixth amendment’s guarantee of counsel is a “fundamental right essential to a fair trial” (Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963) and as such, applies through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
As a conclusion it can be underlined that this rule gives many indigent people the possibility of a fair trial, defending their right to a due process.
Reference
Betts v. Brady, 316 U.S. 455 (1942), United States Supreme Court, Web Retrieved on March, 22, 2016 from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme- court/316/455.html
Gideon v. Wainwright 372 U.S. 335 (1963), Retrieved on March 22, 2016 from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/372/335.html
History of Right to Counsel, National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA), n. d., Retrieved on March 22, 2016 from www.nlada.org/About/About_HistoryDefender
Webb v. Baird, 6 Ind. 13) (1942), Web Retrieved on March 22, 2016 from http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-supreme-court/316/455.html
