User:Jp20law/sandbox

Criminal Legal Aid
Before 1932, there was no mechanism for legal aid for criminal defendants. Modern criminal legal aid developed from a series of landmark court decisions throughout the 1900s. In Powell v. Alabama, nine black youths from Alabama, also known as the “Scottsboro Boys,” were not appointed counsel during a 1932 sexual assault case. Two white females, Victoria Price and Ruby Bates, claimed that these men raped them, bringing them to court. During trial however, testimony and evidence from the medical examination of these women refuted the rape charges. Although they faced capital punishment, the “Scottsboro Boys” did not have the opportunity to see an attorney. Most were illiterate, and none had any knowledge of criminal law. All criminal defendants, except for one, were sentenced to death.

Eventually, the case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, where in a vote of 7-2, the Court overruled the conviction of the "Scottsboro Boys.” The Court stated the trial court’s actions denied them the right to counsel in criminal cases under the Sixth Amendment. This case marked the first time that the Court reversed a state court conviction because there was a failure to appoint counsel.

The Supreme Court clarified Powell in Betts v. Brady (1942). Betts concerned a criminal defendant indicted for robbery in Maryland. However, he could not afford counsel and requested one, which was ultimately denied by the trial judge. The majority in Betts reasoned that individual states assigning counsel to indigent defendants was not required unless there are special circumstances like being illiterate or mentally challenged. Instead, the Court considered Powell’s holding to apply only in federal courts. Therefore, denying the defendant’s request did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause.

In 1963, Gideon v. Wainwright reconsidered the Betts decision. Gideon was charged with breaking and entering, a felony under Florida law. He appeared at trial without an attorney and requested for one, but was denied by the judge. Despite representing himself during trial, the jury found Gideon guilty and sentenced him to five years. He eventually appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court where the Court asserted that criminal defendants have the fundamental right to counsel in all cases, without regard for financial circumstances. They unanimously found that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel for defendants is “fundamental and essential to fair trials” in the United States, noting that “any person … who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.”

These landmark cases led to the creation of public defenders at the state and federal level. Today, the federal government and some states have public defender offices who represent indigent defendants—people who cannot afford attorney fees. At the federal level, there are over 80 federal defender organizations, while at the state level there are over 500 local defender offices. While public defenders receive funding from the government, they must remain ethically bound and independent at all times when handling cases.