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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. Who had complete control over deciding who would represent Gideon?

2. What is the case in which the the opinion indicates that federal defendants should always have the right to an attorney?

3. Overall, the courts deal with ____________ while the legislature deals with abstraction in large numbers.

4. The Supreme Court Justices are aware that many of the cases they hear are the result of __________________.

5. What would be the benefit of a public defender's office?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why is Gideon's Supreme Court case called Gideon vs. Wainwright?

2. What major points stem from revising the method of assigning attorneys who are not compensated?

3. Who is Bruce Robert Jacob and what is his role in Gideon's Supreme Court trial?

4. How could Gideon vs. Wainwright overthrow the Betts vs. Brady decision that was enacted just 20 years prior?

5. What form of support does Jacob get to help him defend the state position in the trial?

6. What are a couple reasons that the Supreme Court works so well in terms of independent thinking?

7. What is the author's reply to those who may question whether a case like Gideon's should be managed through legislation or allowed to proceed to the Supreme Court?

8. What is the impact of the Gideon ruling regarding getting support for attorneys who are appointed to criminal cases?

9. Compare and contrast the legal resources for Jacob representing states' rights and Fortas representing just one man.

10. What does Fortas believe would be the surest way to get assenting opinions from the Justices in Gideon's case?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the irony of Gideon's not being able to ever hold a job very long in his life yet having the tenacity to hand write pages and pages of his petition to the Supreme Court. What gave Gideon his inspiration to keep pushing forward? How would Gideon's life have been different if he had applied this same tenacity to making a decent living and caring for his family? Explain.

Essay Topic 2

There is a saying that "He who represents himself has a fool for a client." Clearly Gideon was set up for failure in trying to represent himself but what do you think of his methods? Was he on the right track? Was he intelligent enough to do a decent job with a little bit of guidance? Do you think Gideon thought he did a good job, at least before the verdict was read? Explain.

Essay Topic 3

Create a brief character study of Gideon. 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?

(see the answer keys)

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