Gideon's Trumpet | 
 enlarge | Author: Anthony Lewis
Publisher: Vintage
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
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Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 2519
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0679723129
Dewey Decimal Number: 345.73056
EAN: 9780679723127
ASIN: 0679723129
Publication Date: April 23, 1989
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Condition: Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. 100% Money Back Guarantee.
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Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 17 more reviews...
 Good Introduction into Law August 10, 2007
The author is a New York Times Columnist, meaning he knows how to write. He weaves story-telling with historical data, so the whole thing isn't fun; but it's balanced.
The author goes to enormous lengths to educate the reader and keep the information as stimulating as possible. There were many instances when I couldn't put the book down, or wait to pick it up again.
An American classic August 9, 2007
This was on our required reading list when I took political science in college, and umpteen years later, it still deserves to be required. When young friends are considering law school, I buy them Scott Turow's "One L," so they'll know what law school is like, and "Gideon's Trumpet" so they'll know why they should stick it out.
 Gideon is a good read! November 10, 2006
This book is a very good read, especially for those who have never really spent the time to understand the difference between federal & state court systems, or for those who want to learn fundamentals about the US Supreme Court. The story of Clarence Earl Gideon is pretty remarkable.
Important read for anyone interested in American Jurisprudence June 4, 2006
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Gideon's Trumpet is an account of Clarence Earl Gideon -- an indigent prisoner who took his Habeas case to the Supreme Court and spawned the 60's federal and state movement to establish legal representation for the outcast. His case, Gideon vs. Wainwright (1963), resulted in the Supreme Court's unanimous decision to overturn a 21-year-old ruling in Betts vs. Brady, and secured the right of legal representation for the accused who do not have the means to pay for a counsel in the United States.
Previous to the Gideon ruling, the Supreme Court had determined that the states should, more or less, decide whether or not the accused needed representation. As a result, in many instances, the lack of a specific federal position and ambiguous guidelines allowed the states to legally prosecute indigent defendants without offering them any legal protection. That is, until Clarence Gideon managed to take his case all the way upto the highest court in the U.S. and win.
Although the case history is significant in its own right, Gideon's Trumpet is narrated with enough sidenotes about the judicial process and social context that it offers a broad meaningful look at the legal system for the general public. Of all the dry, law-related books that are out there, this is one of the rare few that I can safely recommend to my friends.
Great Legal History September 2, 2005
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
This outstanding book dissects Gideon v. Wainright, the landmark 1963 Supreme Court case which held that indigent criminal defendants are entitled to legal counsel at government expense. Lewis tells the story from the viewpoints of the lawyers, the judges, and Gideon himself. He mixes legal history with human interest stories; his writing is unfailingly clear; and he provides a wonderful primer on Supreme Court litigation. The particular issues in Gideon are no longer of burning public interest, but the broad message that our criminal justice system must protect basic human rights is more relevant than ever in 2005. Lawyers and laymen alike will enjoy the book. Six stars.
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