The Right to Counsel

Sixty years ago, on March 18, 1963,  the U.S. Supreme Court decided Gideon v. Wainwright, significantly changing the face of criminal law in the United States.

Charged with breaking and entering into a Florida pool hall, Clarence Earl Gideon could not afford an attorney. After being convicted and sentenced to five years imprisonment, he appealed asserting that his conviction was unconstitutional because the trial court refused to appoint counsel. The Supreme Court’s unanimous decision, written by Justice Hugo Black, found that the Sixth Amendment gives criminal defendants the right to counsel when charged with a serious offense, even if they cannot afford it. Gideon was subsequently retried and acquitted.

In requiring states to provide attorneys to indigent criminal defendants, the Supreme Court effectively created the public defender system that is today accepted as an integral part of the legal community.

Further reading:

For a quick account of the case, including an image of the first page of Gideon’s handwritten cert. petition to the Supreme Court, see the attached excerpt from Professor Michael Roffer’s The Law Book: From Hammurabi to the International Criminal Court, 250 Milestones in the History of Law. K150.R64 2015.

Gideon’s Trumpet (Book) KF228.G53 L49 1964

Gideon’s Trumpet (Movie)

Kyung M. Lee, Reinventing Gideon v. Wainwright: Holistic Defenders, Indigent Defendants, and the Right to Counsel, 31 Am. J. Crim. L. 367 (2004). (Article mentions The Bronx Defenders.)

Bruce R. Jacob, Memories and Reflections about Gideon v. Wainwright, 33 Stetson L. Rev. 181 (2003). (The author is the former Florida Assistant Attorney General who argued the case before the United States Supreme Court.)

 

Happy Women’s History Month!

In honor of Women’s History Month, Lexis Insights is showcasing 10 famous women attorneys who have had an impact in shaping the legal industry for women in the United States.  You can read short biographies of these attorneys: from Charlotte E. Ray, the first woman admitted to the District of Columbia bar, and the first black woman lawyer, to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Latina Supreme Court Justice, who tirelessly works to further civil protections for marginalized populations.

Between 1872 and today, the proportion of women attorneys in the US has  grown from just above 0% to 38% of all licensed attorneys, due in no small part to the work of these women.

Get back into research after spring break: Bloomberg Law (BLAW) training sessions on Mon., 3/20 and Thurs., 3/23

We are pleased to announce two BLAW training sessions on Monday, March 20 at 1:00 pm and Thursday, March 23 at 4:00 pm.  Join Miche de Jean, our BLAW representative, for a 45-minute Zoom training session focusing on the unique features of Bloomberg Law:   Dockets, Transactional Materials, News, Practice Centers, and Secondary Sources.  No need to sign up, just click into the Zoom session link that best fits your schedule.

 

Need to register for a BLAW ID? Go to Academics/Library/Resources & Services/Electronic Resources.  Choose Bloomberg Law from the list on the left side of the screen and click on “Register for a Bloomberg Law Account.” You must use your NYLS email address but you do not need an authorization code.

It may take 24-48 hours for a password request to be processed, but it’s not needed for this session.  See you then!

 

Monday, March 20 BLAW Session Link

Time: Mar 20, 2023 01:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

https://bloombergindustry.zoom.us/j/95701675059?pwd=L0tuMjVpYW01WlRRcVJUVXZ6SWhOUT09

Meeting ID: 957 0167 5059

Passcode: ?J9X0q

 

Thursday, March 23 BLAW Session Link

https://bloombergindustry.zoom.us/j/91976933775?pwd=M0RkTzBYSnc2Nk9DSDk0Njd2MTJkUT09

Meeting ID: 919 7693 3775
Passcode: i8je##

 

 

 

The Law School Survey of Student Engagement

NYLS students recently received an email from LSSSE (Law School Survey of Student Engagement) asking you to complete the survey on your thoughts about legal education and your experiences in law school. The Library hopes you will participate and complete the survey by the March 24, 2023 deadline.  The LSSSE survey is anonymous and is centered on providing insights about student viewpoints on legal education and their law school experiences.  This information is very helpful to NYLS in making sure that our programs focus on areas of importance to you and your colleagues.  We hope you will use the link provided in your NYLS email and complete the survey.  If you would like more information on LSSSE, visit their website.

 

Congratulations to our Valentine’s Day Info Hunt Winners!!

Thanks to everyone who participated in this year’s Valentine’s Day Info Hunt!!

We want to thank ALL of you for putting your research skills to work and joining us in what we hope you all found to be a great learning experience. Here are the 15 winners whose names were selected at random from among the entrants.

Winners will be receiving an email with instructions on claiming their prize.

 

Love is In the Air at the Mendik Library!

What are you looking for this Valentine’s Day?  Love? Adventure? Excitement?  Join our Find Love in the Library Info Hunt!  It’s simple (and free!). You’ll automatically be entered to WIN great prizes . . . study aids, Lexis points, law dictionaries, Bluebooks (choose between print or a 1-year online subscription), NYLS commuter mugs, Westlaw blankets, and Starbucks gift cards!

Click here to access the questions.  Each slide includes just one question, along with step-by-step instructions that will get you to the answer.

Just answer 5 of the 6 questions and submit them by 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday February 14. Your answers don’t need to be perfect—just close!

And don’t forget to stop by the Reference Desk for some yummy Valentine’s Day chocolates.