Gideon's Trumpet [Paperback]

Anthony Lewis (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 23, 1989 | ISBN-10: 0679723129 | ISBN-13: 978-0679723127

A history of the landmark case of James Earl Gideon's fight for the right to legal counsel. Notes, table of cases, index. The classic backlist bestseller. More than 800,000 sold since its first pub date of 1964.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

A history of the landmark case of James Earl Gideon's fight for the right to legal counsel. Notes, table of cases, index. The classic backlist bestseller. More than 800,000 sold since its first pub date of 1964.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (April 23, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679723129
• ISBN-13: 978-0679723127
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #28,393 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #13 in Books > Law > Legal History

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

80 of 87 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Triumph of the Law February 8, 2001

By G. Ware Cornell Jr. TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

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.

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic, Essential Reading For All Law Students July 7, 2002

By Dan

Format:Paperback

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.

40 of 46 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The true story of a man fighting for his right January 20, 1998

By P. Mann VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

Clarence Earl Gideon would have been less than an historical footnote had he not written to the U.S. Supreme Court asking for, in essence, a "get out of jail free" card. Gideon, who would be a career criminal by contemporary definitions, was in a Florida jail for breaking and entering with intent to commit a misdemeanor. In his letter to the nation's highest court, Gideon wrote in pencil that his constitutional rights were violated when he was denied the right to have an attorney at his trial. In the end, the Supreme Court agreed with Gideon and reversed a prior decision to hold that people in Gideon's position (but not all accused persons) are entitled to the assistance of a lawyer and to have the state pay for one if necessary.

"Gideon's Trumpet" tells the story of one man's improbable battle and the Court's ultimate decision in his favor. Author Anthony Lewis has done a remarkable job of putting a human face (several, actually) on one of the landmark cases in criminal procedure and in making the story accessible to any adult regardless of a lack of formal legal training. In "Gideon's Trumpet," Lewis presents all of the characters as humans, not simply as people whose names later stand for legal rules (a la Miranda). "Gideon's Trumpet" also represents a ray of hope for those who think the legal system is solely the prerogative of the wealthy and politically connected, for here is the story of a virtual nobody who without the help of an attorney undertook a monumental process. In fact, "Gideon's Trumpet" might be a bit too optimistic. Written in 1964, the book could not have foreseen the subsequent studies that have shown that *Gideon v. Wainright* (the name of the case) has not substantially altered conviction rates. Still, the book tells a remarkable story quite well. Perhaps the highest praise is that this true story reads as a novel.