Bill Of Rights: Betts V. Brady Case

In 1791, the United States Constitution implemented the Bill of Rights to protect the rights of the individuals by listing specific prohibitions of governmental power. The Bill of Rights consisted of the first ten amendments of the United States Constitution, including the Sixth Amendment—the right to counsel. The Betts v. Brady case, Gideon v. Wainwright case, and Shelton v. Alabama case, each demonstrated how individuals wrongfully suffered due to the lack of appointed counsels. Following these three significant court cases over the past 80 years, the Supreme Court set a precedent for all cases to follow, by ensuring the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right which has led to a more just system—one which acknowledges equal rights of all individuals,
Brady landmark case, the state of Maryland denied Betts his right to an attorney. Betts was an unemployed farm boy who was charged with robbery. Because Betts was indigent when he went to court, he requested that the court appoint him an attorney. The court informed Betts that the state law of Maryland only appointed counsel for indigent defendants if charged with rape or murder. Consequently, when Betts was forced to represent himself in the trial, the Maryland judge found Betts guilty and sentenced him to eight years. Betts filed a writ of habeas corpus, at the Circuit Court for Washington County, stating that the court had deprived him of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The Circuit Court rejected Betts’s petition, so he filed a similar petition with the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals of Maryland. Judge Bond granted the writ, but he denied the relief requested in the petition. Betts finally appealed to the Supreme Court for certiorari: The Court made a six to three decision—that Betts did have a fair trial without the aid of legal counsel. Since Betts was an intelligent 43-year-old, the court deemed him capable of self-representation. In doing so, the court avoided the expense of an attorney and could use these funds for “more deserving” circumstances. Unfortunately for Betts, this case allowed states to apply a narrow interpretation of the Sixth Amendment—only requiring attorney appointments for some defendants; however, Gideon v.
Wainwright case challenged the precedent of Betts v. Brady regarding the extent to which counsel need providing. Clarence Earl Gideon committed many nonviolent crimes in his early life, and on June 3, 1961, Gideon was involved in a burglary at the Bay Harbor Pool Room in Panama City, Florida. Between midnight and 8:00am, he broke a door, smashed a cigarette machine and a record player, and stole money from a cash register. Based on a witness’s account, police arrested Gideon and charged him with breaking and entering with intent to commit petty larceny. When Gideon went to trial, he requested an attorney to represent him. The judge of Florida denied his request because under the existing state law, the court could only appoint counsel to represent a defendant was when he was charged with a crime potentially resulting in the death penalty. When Florida sentenced Gideon to five years in prison, he filed a habeas corpus petition to argue an unconstitutional conviction—the absence of a defense attorney infringed on his Sixth Amendment right. After Florida denied his petition, Gideon appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Next, the Supreme Court reviewed his case in 1963 and Justice Hugo Black announced a unanimous decision. The Supreme Court ruled Gideon’s conviction unconstitutional because he was denied a defense lawyer. The Gideon v. Wainwright case caused the Supreme Court to reevaluate the Sixth Amendment and extend the right to appointed counsel to