Gideon v. Wainwright, EXPLAINED [AP Gov Required Supreme Court Cases]

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In this video Heimler walks you through another one of your required court cases for the AP Government curriculum, namely, Gideon v. Wainwright. This is a case about the Sixth Amendment which provides the accused with a lawyer when they stand trial.

However, it's also a case about selective incorporation and whether the Sixth Amendment applies to the states through the 14th Amendment. And, spoiler alert, it does.

[Emmie]

*Gideon v Wainwright*

- incorporated the sixth amendment; based on the sixth amendment
- Court unanimously ruled in favor of Gideon’s decision.
- The 14th amendment equal protection clause applies to the liberties contained in the Bill of Rights to the states
- The state will only appoint a lawyer to a defendant in capital cases and thus Gideon was not entitled to representation appointed by the state

[luisishere]

funny because these videos will spike in views come May

[eligarcia]

This AP test is in the morning.... oh man

[adelinekeith]

this case has an entire movie! it's actually pretty good, i watched it for my criminal investigations class!

[MimiPlaysViolin]

on here a minute. Why did you say that Gideon broke into a pool hall and stole money as if that's a fact? He was accused of doing so, yes. But the whole point here is that, while he was found guilty, he did not have a fair trial as he was forced to represent himself in a court of law against a trained prosecutor. He always maintained his innocence. Gideon received a second trial in 1963 with proper representation and was acquitted. This inaccuracy could have been avoided by adding "was accused of" instead of saying it is a "fact of the case" that Gideon committed a crime.

[Bingbumble]

Shouldn't it be the due process clause and not the equal protection clause based on how the 6A was applied?

[locnugwin]

in our gopo class we had to do a mock supreme court trial and we were the defense. somehow convinced the supreme court to rule in favor of wainwright

[clorox]

ap gov test is tmmrw! last minute review lol

[jbpewfz]

gideon got arrested for breaking in somewhere and stealing something, but he had to act as his own lawyer.

constitutional principle: 6th amendment; criminal cases have a right to a lawyer (federal govt)
- but 14th amendement applies BOR to states

ruling
- 6th applies to states (selective incoorperation)

[luisfernandoliendomartinez]

I just clicked in the vid and it help me a lot thx

[thedlyncher]

Can someone help understand if this case connects to the 4th amendment at all?

[breboyle]

How is this the Equal Protection Clause rather than the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment? I think I’ve been studying it backwards

[mcgamer]

isnt the attorney thing apart of the Miranda case

[kckcmctcrc]

I wonder if there are young folks out there asking themselves..."what's a cigarette machine?"

[juliettelct]

why are you talking about the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment and not the due process clause ?

[fashionablysam]

"Gideon vs wain... Has a right to a lawyer"

[Asegh]

Why have I been forced to be pro- per and represent myself with no assigned council?

[kevinlove]

I have two problems with this Supreme Court ruling. The first one is that I do not see how the 14th amendment to the US constitution can support the conclusion. The relevant part of the 14th amendment reads:

Amendment XIV (1868)
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Context: This is right after the US Civil War. In the Confederate States of America, black slaves were not CSA citizens. Neither were they citizens of the state wherein they resided. The 14th amendment is intended to be an anti-Jim Crow amendment that prevents Southern states from taking away the rights of their black citizens. Nowhere does it state that the Bill of Rights applies to state governments.

It would have been very simple for the authors of this amendment to write, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall violate amendments 1 to 10 of this constitution." But that is not what it says!

The second problem I have with this Supreme Court ruling is that people are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. And if the judge hearing a case is not presented by the prosecutor with evidence to support guilt beyond reasonable doubt, then the judge should direct the jury to return a verdict of "not guilty." It is difficult for the prosecution to present evidence to support guilt beyond reasonable doubt if the accused is, in fact, innocent. So in a properly functioning judicial system the defendant should not need a lawyer. Saying that every defendant needs a lawyer is a confession that the judicial system is profoundly dysfunctional and needs to be reformed.

[oscarpesantes]

He made a mistake it’s the due process clause

[니모-bw]

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