Pedron, Venich Jammin Ramzel A.

Problem Areas in Legal Ethics

3A

Gideon’s Trumpet

The 1987 Constitution guarantees: “No person shall be

deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law…”1
Under the said provision, to deprive a person of his liberty without
affording him the opportunity to defend himself constitute an undue
exercise of the state of its power. And an important component of this
right to due process is the right to be heard by himself and counsel.
But what if a person can’t afford the services of a counsel?

This question was answered in the case of Gideon vs.

Wainwright as depicted in the movie “Gideon’s trumpet.” In the
cited case, Clarence Earl Gideon was charged of “breaking and
entering with the intent to commit a misdemeanor.” During his trial,
he requested for the appointment of counsel but the same was denied
as the laws of the state of Florida at that time allow such appointment
only for capital offenses. As a consequence therefor, Gideon was
convicted and was sentenced to suffer imprisonment. During the
time of his confinement, he studied about his rights and later filed his
own petition to the Supreme Court of the United States asking the
latter to resolve the question of whether the right to counsel
guaranteed under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution applies
to defendants in state court. The Supreme Court ruled that the Sixth
Amendment’s guarantee of counsel is a fundamental right essential
to a fair trial and, as such, applies the states through the Due Process
Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.2 The Supreme Court, through
Justice Black, further stated that “reason and reflection require us to
recognize that in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person
haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a
fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.”3

This ruling gave particular emphasis on the importance of a

lawyer’s role in defending the rights, and advocating for the cause, of
his clients. The ruling made the observation on the apparent inequity
between a person whose rights are defended by a lawyer and those
who cannot afford one. Even the Code of Professional Responsibility

1 Art. III, Sec. 1, 1987 Constitution.

2 https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/facts-and-case-
summary-gideon-v-wainwright (Last Accessed March 11, 2019)
3 Ibid.
imposes upon the lawyer the duty to advocate for the cause of the
defenseless or of the oppressed.4 As such, we as lawyers or future
lawyers must be able to provide adequate services especially to those
in need in order to prevent injustice in the society.

Word Count: 420

4 Rule 2.01, Code of Professional Responsibility.