Miscarriage of Justice in Gideon V Wainwright Essay

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Injustice in the Supreme Court

Gideon v. Wainwright

This was a case where Gideon was a defendant and was denied the right to have a counsel defending him because he was not charged with a capital offense. The Florida court argued that the court was only obliged to provide him with a counsel if he was charged with a capital offense. However, upon taking the case to the Supreme Court, it was determined that every citizen was entitled to a counsel who would defend him against prosecution. The argument is that justice cannot be achieved without providing the defendant with the right to a fair hearing. On the same note, it is the right of the courts to ensure that even those who are unable to pay a legal counsel to defend them are provided with a public defendant who will ensure that their interests are taken care of (Blount, 507).

Indigent defendants

In most cases, the indigent defendants do not fare well in the criminal justice system. There are many challenges that face them and their quest to providing the best representation to their clients. In the case of Eddie Lloyd, the indigent defendant has a very short time to organize his case. As a result, he was unable to gather all the evidence that was needed to ensure that the defendant was not sent to jail. Based on his incompetence and lack of good investigation, Eddie was sent for life without any option for parole although killed nobody.

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Therefore, the defendant was not competent enough to represent Eddie and in the process led to his jail time. It is only after the case was taken up by other lawyers that Eddie was found innocent and acquitted of his charges after spending more than 17 years in jail. The lack of ample time in analyzing the defendant's case resulted in the failure to show his innocence.

The other main challenge is the fact that most of the public defendants are poorly paid and overworked. The implication is that they are not committed to their role in promoting the interests of the defendant. Moreover, there is the option of the contract lawyers who are hired based on the number of cases they can handle in a state. This means that in most cases, the lawyers are overworked and handle many cases, which reduces their effectiveness in managing the cases.

By standing on a firm belief that it was his constitutional right to have a counsel appointed for him if he did not afford one led to the changes that are seen today in the justice system. Despite being sent to jail for five years by the jury, he wrote….....

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Works Cited

Blount, Sade N. "Finishing What We Started in Gideon v. Wainwright: Expanding the Right to Counsel in Removal Proceedings." Geo. Immigr. LJ 30 (2015): 507.

Cohen, Thomas H. "Who is better at defending criminals? Does type of defense attorney matter in terms of producing favorable case outcomes." Criminal Justice Policy Review 25.1 (2014): 29-58.

Owens, Stephen D., et al. "Indigent Defense Services in the United States, FY 2008-2012." Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics US Department of Justice (2014).

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