1672 Gideon's Trumpet, by Anthony Lewis (read 17 Nov 1981) This 1964 book tells the story of Gideon v. Wainwright, which held that an indigent accused of crime was entitled to a lawyer, overruling Betts v. Brady (1942). It is a well-written book. Abe Fortas was appointed to represent Gideon and Arnold, Fortas & Porter used ample resources to represent Gideon. Florida's work was all done by a young guy in the Attorney-General's office there. Gideon was found not guilty on retrial. Very interesting account. ( )

This is a great book for people beginning law school, or for those that want a comfortable synopsis of how our Judicial system works. ( )

In 1961, Clarence Earl Gideon was charged in the State of Florida with the offense of burglary, a felony. He asked the court to appoint an attorney to represent him. The judge refused, telling Gideon that Florida only provided counsel in capital cases. So Gideon went to trial, representing himself, and was convicted.

From the Florida State Prison in Raiford, in 1962, Clarence Earl Gideon wrote a letter to the United States Supreme Court, asking that his conviction be overturned on the grounds that he should have been given a lawyer. He was fighting an uphill battle. The Court had previously ruled in Betts v. Brady that the 6th Amendment right to counsel did not apply to the states. Gideon was asking the Court to change its mind, just twenty years later.

The Court agreed to hear his case, and appointed Abe Fortas to brief and argue it. The rest is history. Gideon won his case (and at retrial, with counsel, was acquitted), and indigent criminal defendants are now guaranteed the right to counsel. 2003 marked the 40th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright, which is the foundation stone of indigent defense throughout the United States (and not so incidentally of my career as a public defender!).

Anthony Lewis was for many years the New York Times Supreme Court correspondent. His work covering the Court was knowledgeable and incisive. In this book, he explains clearly and simply the legal history that Gideon and Fortas had to face, and how this historic change came about.