Whatever happened to Clarence Earl Gideon?
Stephen Taylor
in the early 60's. Charged with breaking into a pool hall, he asked
the court in Florida for an attorney. When Florida declined to
provide one, the trial went forward and he defended himself. He was
found guilty.
In prison, he petitioned the United STates Supreme Court for
help in his case. In one of the most important decisions ever to come
from the Supreme Court, the Court ruled that any court in the land
must provide counsel to any poor defendant, at any step in the
judicial process; from arraignment to appeal.
Amazingly, as I discovered in my reading about that case, prior to
1962, if you could not afford a lawyer, the State was under no
obligation to appoint one for you.
After the Supreme Court ruling, Gideon was retried and found not
guilty.
I have found no trace of him past that point. More than likely, he is
dead.
Does anyone have any ideas or information? What happened to him after
1962 and when did he die?
Stephen Taylor
Austin TX
DGH
There was a book about the Supreme Court that I once read that had a
picture of the hand written petition he sent to the Supreme Court, on
prison paper.
A book was written about his case, called Gideon's Trumpet. It was later
made into a movie with Henry Fonda (playing Gideon, I think). I remember
that part of the actual text from the arguments in the case, and from
the Supreme Court opinion, were used in the TV movie.
If you go to: <http://www.aclumontana.org/rights/gideon.html>, you can
see a copy of his hand written petition. You can also listen to the
actual arguments made in the case in the Supreme Court chambers. (Why
those tapes are available to the public is a whole different story,
which I would be happy to tell if anybody is interested).
Gideon filed "in forma paupuris", i.e., as a pauper, and his filing fee
was waived. When cert was granted, Abe Fortis (subsequently appointed to
the Supreme Court by Lindon Johnson, and then subsequently resigned
under pressure when Nixon was in the White House) handled the arguments
for Gideon. Gideon never was able to make it to DC to hear the arguments
(I believe he was still in prison at the time).
For what it is worth, the state of Florida was not willing to give up,
and therefore tried Gideon a second time. With adequate legal
representation, however, he was able to get a verdict of not-guilty.
See also:
<http://www.constitutioncenter.org/resources/supreme_court/4b1.asp>.
- - - -
Erik L.
in Grand Prairie Texas. The age is right, so it is probably him.
The 2002 American League East Division Champion New York Yankees
Erik L.
Bill Schenley
> in Florida
<snipped>
> Does anyone have any ideas or information? What
> happened to him after 1962 and when did he die?
"He died penniless in 1972 and was buried in an
unmarked grave. Twelve years later a group of
lawyers held a memorial service and bought a
headstone for the man who gave poor people a
chance in court."
FROM:
http://www.whig.com/news/newspro/viewnews.cgi?newsid1039321768,58990,
Marty
"David Carson" <da...@neosoft.com> wrote in message
news:VJKdnWsLg9F...@speakeasy.net...
> On 19 Dec 2002 18:32:11 -0800, backtot...@yahoo.com (Stephen Taylor)
> wrote:
>
> > After the Supreme Court ruling, Gideon was retried and found not
> >guilty.
> >I have found no trace of him past that point. More than likely, he is
> >dead.
> >Does anyone have any ideas or information? What happened to him after
> >1962 and when did he die?
>
> college textbooks quotes from what they call his "epitaph" printed in the
> New York Times on 12 February 1972.
>
> David Carson
SSDI has a Clarence Gideon born 3 Aug 1910, died Jan 1972, last residence
not specified
Also one born 21 Jul 1909, died Nov 1971, last residence Jasper IN
Bill Schenley
> <snipped>
> FROM:
>
http://www.whig.com/news/newspro/viewnews.cgi?newsid1039321768,58990,
... Or try this link ... and scroll down ...
J.D. Baldwin
In the previous article, Bill Schenley <stra...@erie.net> wrote:
> "He died penniless in 1972 and was buried in an
> unmarked grave. Twelve years later a group of
> lawyers held a memorial service and bought a
> headstone for the man who gave poor people a
> chance in court."
If the truth in advertising laws had any teeth, that would have read:
... Twelve years later a group of lawyers held a memorial
service and bought a headstone for the man who helped to
ensure that even the least competent attorneys would still
be guaranteed employment by the state, as public
defenders.
--
_+_ From the catapult of |If anyone disagrees with any statement I make, I
_|70|___:)=}- J.D. Baldwin |am quite prepared not only to retract it, but also
\ / bal...@panix.com|to deny under oath that I ever made it. -T. Lehrer
***~~~~-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DGH
Your point is well taken. In its infinite wisdom, the current Supreme
Court confuses ANY representation with ADEQUATE representation. In point
of fact, in some cases defendants might even do better WITHOUT an
attorney than with the attorney they get. Through its inaction, the
Supreme Court has effectively invalidated much of Gideon.
Likewise, the courts have inactivated much of Miranda. Only two states
require taping of police interrogations -- Alaska and Minnesota. Did it
ever seem curious why interrogations of suspects are never taped? It is
because if most juries saw the tapes, they would realize that many
(perhaps most) "confessions" are not true confessions. Great article
about that in a recent "Amnesty International" magazine.
- - - -
J.D. Baldwin
In the previous article, DGH <peri...@eudoramail.com> wrote:
> Did it ever seem curious why interrogations of suspects are never
> taped?
And here I thought it was because the technology required to make
audio tapes of police interrogations is too expensive and unwieldy
for routine usage.
Terrymelin
Terry Ellsworth
WarpTwelve
>And here I thought it was because the technology required to make
>audio tapes of police interrogations is too expensive and unwieldy
>for routine usage.
This is sarcasm, I presume? 'specially since all the coppers are installing
some really, really elaborate video and audio systems in patrol cars.
When I got my attempted-DUI arrest last year (all charges later dropped) the
arresting ossifer accidentally left his monitor on and I realized that there
was a hidden camera in the back of the police car that records the arrestee the
entire time he/she is back there. That's in conjunction with the camera in the
front of the car that records everything in front of the windshield and a
wireless microphone that the ossifer has pinned to his shirt.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What's so funny about peace, love, and understanding?"
Stephen Taylor
> "David Carson" <da...@neosoft.com> wrote in message
> news:VJKdnWsLg9F...@speakeasy.net...
> > On 19 Dec 2002 18:32:11 -0800, backtot...@yahoo.com (Stephen Taylor)
> > wrote:
> >
> > > After the Supreme Court ruling, Gideon was retried and found not
> > >guilty.
> > >I have found no trace of him past that point. More than likely, he is
> > >dead.
> > >Does anyone have any ideas or information? What happened to him after
> > >1962 and when did he die?
> >
> > Gideon v. Wainwright was decided in 1963. Gideon was 53 then. One of my
> > college textbooks quotes from what they call his "epitaph" printed in the
> > New York Times on 12 February 1972.
> >
> > David Carson
I want to thank everyone who has responded for their help. I
just fionished reading "Gideon's Trumpet" and it was a page-turner.
Naturally, I wanted to find out what happened to the protagonist.
Many times, History pivots on the backs of small men. Clarence Gideon
was one of those men.
Stephen Taylor
Austin TX
Iceman
>Wasn't this made into a TV movie with Henry Fonda?
>
>Terry Ellsworth
Yes, in 1980. Moviemakers seem to have a soft spot for such people
(cf. "The Birdman of Alcatraz", "The Hurricane" etc. etc.).
Iceman
(J.D. Baldwin) wrote:
>In the previous article, DGH <peri...@eudoramail.com> wrote:
>> Did it ever seem curious why interrogations of suspects are never
>> taped?
>
>And here I thought it was because the technology required to make
>audio tapes of police interrogations is too expensive and unwieldy
>for routine usage.
They had no tape recorder at Dallas Police HQ in November, 1963, so
there's no audio record of the interrogation of Lee Harvey Oswald.
J.D. Baldwin
In the previous article, Iceman <isma...@hotmail.com> wrote,
quoting me:
> >> Did it ever seem curious why interrogations of suspects are never
> >> taped?
> >
> >And here I thought it was because the technology required to make
> >audio tapes of police interrogations is too expensive and unwieldy
> >for routine usage.
>
> They had no tape recorder at Dallas Police HQ in November, 1963, so
> there's no audio record of the interrogation of Lee Harvey Oswald.
Sure. That's what THEY want you to think.
WarpTwelve
>In the previous article, Iceman <isma...@hotmail.com> wrote,
>quoting me:
>> >> Did it ever seem curious why interrogations of suspects are never
>> >> taped?
>> >
>> >And here I thought it was because the technology required to make
>> >audio tapes of police interrogations is too expensive and unwieldy
>> >for routine usage.
>>
>> They had no tape recorder at Dallas Police HQ in November, 1963, so
>> there's no audio record of the interrogation of Lee Harvey Oswald.
>
>Sure. That's what THEY want you to think.
Don't tell anyone, but it's secretly buried on the grassy knoll somewhere.