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Old 06-03-2003, 06:30 AM   #1 (permalink)
Mr. Mojo
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Location: NYC
Today in History - June 3, 1960 The right to an attorney is established

<a target=new href="http://www.historychannel.com/tdih/"><b>Brought to you by the History Channel - LINK</b></a>

1960 The right to an attorney is established

Clarence Gideon is arrested and charged with breaking into a poolroom in Florida. The appeal of Gideon's subsequent conviction led to the establishment of one of the chief principles of American criminal justice. Due to Gideon's perseverance, every criminal suspect is entitled to representation by a lawyer.
Gideon, claiming innocence, demanded a lawyer for his trial in 1960. But Florida did not provide lawyers to defendants who could not afford to pay them. He was forced to represent himself and was convicted after a very short trial. In prison, Gideon wrote out his appeal in pencil on a pad of paper. He claimed that he was constitutionally entitled to a lawyer.

When the appeals court decided to hear Gideon's claim, Abe Fortas, one of the country's leading attorneys and later a Supreme Court justice, argued the case, which went all the way to the nation's highest court. In Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court ruled that a fair trial "cannot be realized if the poor man charged with [the] crime has to face his accusers without a lawyer to assist him."

Gideon not only got his own conviction overturned, but he also established a principle that is at the heart of the criminal justice system today. Now incorporated into what are known as our Miranda rights-"You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you can't afford one, one will be provided for you"-this information must be announced by every officer while making an arrest.
When Florida decided to retry Gideon for the poolroom burglary in 1963, he had an experienced lawyer at his trial. The attorney easily poked holes in the prosecution's flimsy case, and Gideon was acquitted. New York Times writer Anthony Lewis wrote the stirring account of how one poor man changed the entire system in his 1965 book, Gideon's Trumpet, which later became a movie starring Henry Fonda.




Also today:

<b>1965 An American walks in space</b>
One hundred and 20 miles above the earth, Major Edward H. White II opens the hatch of the Gemini 4 and steps out of the capsule, becoming the first American astronaut to walk in space...

<b>1937, Duke of Windsor Weds</b>
In France, the duke of Windsor--formerly King Edward VIII of Great Britain and Northern Ireland--marries Wallis Warfield, the American divorcée for whom he abdicated the British throne in December 1936... (he gave up his throne for a woman!)

<b>1989 Crackdown at Tiananmen begins</b>
With protests for democratic reforms entering their seventh week, the Chinese government authorizes its soldiers and tanks to reclaim Beijing's Tiananmen Square at all costs. By nightfall on June 4, Chinese troops had forcibly cleared the square, killing hundreds and arresting thousands of demonstrators and suspected dissidents...


Yeah i screwed up the title...
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Last edited by Mr. Mojo; 06-03-2003 at 07:27 AM..
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