Gideon's Trumpet: How One Man, a Poor Prisoner, Took His Case to the Supreme Court-and Changed the Law of the United States

by Anthony Lewis

Book Overview

The classic bestseller from a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist that tells the compelling true story of one man's fight for the right to legal counsel for every defendent. A history of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679723129
• Release Date: April 1989
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 0.8" x 5.1"

Customer Reviews

Too much legalese

I watched the movie with Henry Fonda and is was EXCELLENT. The book was more about the legal aspects which didn't interest me as much. However, I'd still say it is an important book.

A Classic, Essential Reading For All Law Students

Gideon's Trumpet is an eloquent and informative look at a very important story in the history of the United States legal system. Not only will it teach you about the evolution of the right to counsel from the case of Gideon v. Wainwright, but it teaches you much about the practices, intricacies and eccentricities of the Supreme Court and its members. This book should be considered essential and required reading for all law students. I loved it and learned much from it.

Triumph of the Law

Clarence Earl Gideon, petty thief, did at least two things right in his life. He preserved his record by requesting the appointment of a lawyer for him, and he filed a timely petition for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court.Ironically, although the Florida courts denied Gideon legal represention, the Justices appointed Abe Fortas, soon to be one of their brothers, to argue his cause. His victory, forever establishing the right of the poor to counsel in felony cases in America, was one of the landmark cases of the Warren Court.As importantly, this book illustrates law at the human level. This is where practioners routinely encounter it. Cases studied in law school are sterile, stripping the humanity and drama from the litigants, and replacing them with rules of decision and conduct necessary for societal regulation. The distillation of fact contained within an appellate decision, even a landmark, pales in comparison to the human beings who create the cause.Anthony Lewis's book should point law students and young lawyers to the deeper lessons of practice. Law is about people; and we, as lawyers, are their servants.

An Excellent Piece of Legal History

As Lewis documents the events surrounding the case of Gideon v. Wainwright, perhaps the most important case of the Warren Court era, he provides us with an easy-to-read yet insightful look at the workings of the Supreme Court and the interaction, and sometimes tension, between the federal and state courts. Lewis also provides a thoughtful commentary on the legitimacy of rules that issue from the courts as opposed to those that issue from our legislatures and in doing so, he provides his reader with a perspective of the Court's role in our democracy. This book made everything I learned in law school all the more clear. It is a wonderful explanation of American criminal and constitutional law for those who have legal training and for those who do not. Both readers will find Gideon's Trumpet accessible but also intellectually challenging.

Excellent!! Great Pre-Law school summer read!

Links aspects of basic American History, Supreme Court History, Constitutional Law, Civil Procedure, and interesting litigation in a non-text, easy read format. Very very rare in law books to be this interesting, well written, didactic, AND entertaining.

Inspirational story of how a poor man fought for his rights

Clarence Earl Gideon was a poor prisoner in Florida who, one day, wrote a letter to the Supreme Court of the United States. His plea was a simple one. "I requested the court to appoint me an attorney, and the court refused," he explained. In "Gideon's Trumpet," Lewis presents an unparallelled account of the case Gideon v. Wainright, which resulted in a requirement for states to make Public Defenders available to all accused. Sparing no detail, he gives the reader a look into the lives of attorneys, Supreme Court Justices, and Clarence Earl Gideon himself. This inspirational novel is a must-read for anyone who has ever wondered what it means to seek justice