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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 is covered in the issue of federalism?

2. Gideon writes a letter of ____________ pages to Abe Fortas to tell him what really happened.

3. What prior case had established the rules for assigning an attorney to a defendant.

4. As a general rule, the Justices' decisions follow ______________ of what's most important in the judicial system.

5. Is Gideon guaranteed an attorney during a Supreme Court trial?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What are Gideon's intentions for his life should he be released from prison?

4. What is the process of a Supreme Court petition?

5. What is the nature of Gideon's petition to the Supreme Court?

6. What is Gideon's mood as he heads into his Supreme Court trial?

7. What kind of power do the Supreme Court Justices have and how do some of them feel about it?

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

9. What issue has been on the minds of the Justices lately that gives Gideon's petition some extra attention?

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

Create a brief character study of W. Fred Turner. 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 2

GIDEON'S TRUMPET is a story about succeeding against heavy odds. Explain how fortunate Gideon is to have been alive in 1962 instead of 1942. What ruling had been in place in Florida that would have kept Gideon in prison for his full sentence? Is Gideon even aware of his good fortune? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Describe the overall settings for the story. What is important about each setting as it is revealed? What is the time period of the story? How important is the time period to the attitudes and issues of the people?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,034 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample