Gideons Trumpet
The book entitled “Gideon’s Trumpet” is based on a true story that tells about a true-to-life narrative of Gideon v. Wainwright, which is said to be one of the landmark cases in the United States Supreme Court that entails significant influence in the judicial process of the United States of America, more especially in criminal cases (Lewis, 1966). The book is written by a great American writer named Anthony Lewis in the year 1964.
A year after its publication, Anthony Lewis’s “Gideon’s Trumpet” is picked for an Edgar Award, also known as Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Fact Crime Book, which is given by the Mystery Writers of America. Several years after, this story of Gideon v. Wainwright is also transformed in a movie in 1980 (Gideon’s Trumpet Study Guide – Important People, n. d. ). Clarence Earl Gideon, which is played by Henry Fonda in the movie, is an underprivileged and bad-tempered handyman from Florida who has been arrested for a crime of larceny in 1961 (Gideon’s Trumpet – 1980, n. d. ).
Deprived by the means to afford a lawyer in defending and representing his side in the court hearing, Gideon, without the chance to defend his side, is sentenced to spend five years inside the penitentiary (Gideon’s Trumpet Study Guide, n. d. ; Gideon’s Trumpet: Overview, n. d. ). This kind of treatment which the poor man has received from the judicial system of Florida generated and attracted the attention of the United States Supreme Court wherein such act from the legal court is considered as a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment made by the highest office in the United States Judicial System.
Through the unyielding efforts of the convicted behind the bars and his stance in not giving-up with what he is fighting ting and believing for, the U. S. Supreme Court is able to receive his messages and plea for equal justice. As a result of this, the United States Supreme Court has decided to create a landmark resolution right away in response of Gideon’s appeal and in aid of modifying the entire U. S. Judicial System.
The highest court decided to render free legal representation for the people accused of a crime in the United States. Thoughts on “Gideon’s Trumpet” In a sense, it can be said that both the book and movie, which tells about the story of Clarence Earl Gideon and his legal case of being accused in committing the crime of larceny, have both showed decency and balance in its interpretation of the said significant legal case in the history of United States Judicial System.
Thus, the enlightenment of the movie and the book of the story Gideon’s Trumpet have both handled the subject in such a conservative manner wherein the depiction and interpretation of the main story is seen to have been accurate and fair to the reality of the Gideon’s legal case story. In addition to this, the adaptation and illustration of Gideon’s case is seen to have been depicted and interpreted comprehensively in which both the book and the movie have splendidly handled the main subject accordingly in presenting factual information with regard to the definite happenings in Gideon’s case.
Nonetheless, it can be said that the main reason as to why the case of Clarence Earl Gideon, who is being accused of committing the criminal act of larceny, resulted in such is mainly due to the fact that preliminary actions of the state court of Florida are evident to have been in violation of the human rights in having a fair and equal chances to obtain legal justice (Gideon’s Trumpet Study Guide – Theme, n. d. ).
In addition to this, the legal story of Gideon is also seen to have been a landmark case due to the failure and oppression Florida Court System in providing the accused, Clarence Earl Gideon, to have a legal representative in light of his financial condition to be able to defend his side before the court proceedings. Thus, Gideon’s case is indeed an inspiration in the amendment of the highest judicial office in the United States, which is that of the Supreme Court that have made the story of Gideon a landmark case that made the U.
S. Supreme Court to come up with a firm and significant decision to resolve the injustice across the American country. The US Court System: Federal and State Courts In the United States of America, there is a court system that is composed of the federal and state courts which has corresponding differences that are to be noted in understanding the functions of the two.
In general, the federal courts serves to address the issues that are brought before it regarding the federal laws and the US Constitution and also those which deal with the disputes of parties regarding money which value exceeds $75,000 (Bergman & Bergman-Barrett, 2008; Feinman, 2006). On the other hand, the state courts function to address issues that are not within the powers of the federal courts such as cases involving state laws and state constitutions that could include personal obligations, family cases, and contracts (Bergman & Bergman-Barrett, 2008; Kaplin & Lee, 2007).
There are different levels within the said court system which includes the district courts, courts of appeal, and the US Supreme Court for the federal court system (Bergman & Bergman-Barrett, 2008). On the other hand, there are a variety of names for the first level in state court systems, the second is the court of appeal, and the last is the supreme court with the exception for New York where the highest is called the Appellate Division (Bergman & Bergman-Barrett, 2008).
In general, the first level of the courts take the role of hearing the trials and the preceding appeals are made in the second and third levels with their own specific requirements (Meiners, Ringleb, & Edwards, 2006). References Bergman, P. & Bergman-Barrett, S. (2008). Represent yourself in court. Berkeley, CA: Nolo. Feinman, J. (2006). Law 101: Everything you need to know about the American legal system. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Gideon’s Trumpet Study Guide – Important People.
Retrieved January 27, 2009, from http://www. bookrags. com/studyguide-gideons-trumpet/characters. html Gideon’s Trumpet Study Guide – Theme. (n. d. ). Retrieved January 27, 2009, from http://www. bookrags. com/studyguide-gideons-trumpet/themes. html Gideon’s Trumpet Study Guide. (n. d. ). Retrieved January 27, 2009, from http://www. bookrags. com/studyguide-gideons-trumpet/ Gideon’s Trumpet – 1980. (n. d. ) Retrieved January 27, 2009, from http://www. netflix.
com/Movie/Gideon_s_Trumpet/70075512? mqso=80020215&partid=Gideon%27s_Trumpet Gideon’s Trumpet: Overview. (n. d. ). Retrieved January 27, 2009, from http://movies. msn. com/movies/movie/gideon%27s-trumpet/ Kaplin, W. & Lee, B. (2007). Law of higher education. San Francisco, CA: John Wiley & Sons. Lewis A. (1966). Gideon’s Trumpet. New York City: Vintage Books. Meiners, R. , Ringleb, A. , & Edwards, F. (2006). The legal environment of business. Mason, Ohio: Thomson Higher Education.
Sample Essay of EduBirdie.com