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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does the judge in Gideon's first trial neglect to tell Gideon?

2. How many children does Gideon have?

3. Why was Gideon in the hospital during this time?

4. What is unique about Gideon's petition to the U.S. Supreme Court?

5. Abe Fortas had previously argued the case that expanded the Supreme Court's ruling on ____________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the famous case by which assigning attorneys to defendants is determined?

2. How many Supreme Court Justices are there and how large is their support staff?

3. What major inadequacies does Fortas discover in the transcripts of Gideon's criminal trial?

4. How does Fortas learn more about Gideon during the months after he is appointed to represent him?

5. Why is it relevant that Fortas wants to know if Gideon is a Negro?

6. What sentence does Gideon receive for the petty larceny charge?

7. What incriminating testimony had been provided by the prosecution's witness, Henry Cook, during Gideon's criminal trial?

8. Describe some of Gideon's bad childhood experiences.

9. For what is Abe Fortas already known regarding influencing the Supreme Court to expand a certain ruling?

10. For what crime is Gideon serving time in a Florida prison?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Explain the significance of the book's title. What did the author mean by calling the book GIDEON'S TRUMPET when Gideon is clearly not a musician? Expand your thinking and provide the best answer you can think of.

Essay Topic 2

Create a brief character study of Abe Fortas. What does he look like? What are his positive personality traits? What are some of his negative characteristics? What are his hopes and fears? What is his primary motivation?

Essay Topic 3

In Gideon's Supreme Court case, Abe Fortas is assigned to represent him while Bruce Jacob represents the state's rights. Compare and contrast Abe Fortas and Bruce Jacob. What similarities do they share? How are they different? Do you think the Supreme Court Justices knew what they were doing when they appointed Fortas to Gideon's case? Explain.

(see the answer keys)

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