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elliegroves's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
2.75
I read this book for my politics and judicial process class and it was okay! I liked learned some unique characteristics about the Supreme Court and how our Supreme Court can be such a positive force for change when our Justices serve as almost the social and political gauge. When there is too much tension, the court should sense and act in response by using their jurisdiction to chose pressing and relevant cases. Personally, not my favorite because it very long and often slow but could be interesting if you are super into law!
rbruehlman's review against another edition
3.0
Thoroughly researched, and learned a lot about the way the Supreme Court works. I feel a bit bad rating it 3 stars, because it *is* well-written, and is readable to a layman with no experience in law. I can't point to anything I disliked about it. It's just not a topic I think speaks to be particularly. I guess it's a good thing I didn't go to law school after all, perhaps!
cseibs's review against another edition
4.0
A wonderful homage to SCOTUS and the American legal system's better angels.
krislea's review against another edition
3.0
Huge fan of the Supreme Court case that established the right to legal counsel for those on trial for felonies, not a huge fan of the book -- extremely dated and only uses masculine pronouns for attorneys, clerks, etc., despite the presence of women in the profession at the time of publication. Enjoyed reading Gideon's procedural history, summaries of briefs, selections from oral argument.
thoughtdaughterr's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
3.75
Accessible prose that I think allows even a layperson to understand how a case such as this makes it way to the Supreme Court. Lots of praise for the Supreme Court which speaks to a bygone era. I think this book does a good job of showing how politics and changes in law and society influences Supreme Court Decisionmaking
wwatts1734's review against another edition
4.0
Many of us who are not attorneys tend to think of the law as the stuff of dusty bookshelves in the offices of lawyers and judges. But, in fact, all of us are affected by the law, and it is never a bad thing to learn a thing or two about how law is made and changed. In "Gideon's Trumpet", Anthony Lewis tells the compelling story about an indigent Florida prisoner who wrote a letter in pencil to the Supreme Court asking that his case be reviewed. The result of this process was the Supreme Court decision that required all felony defendants to be provided an attorney even if they can't afford one.
This story is well written and interesting from the very beginning. The book traces the lives of the attorneys, the high powered Washington attorney who was appointed to advocate for Gideon as well as the former Florida District Attorney who carried the torch for the State of Florida. Lewis discusses all of the nuances of the legal process and how the Supreme Court processes cases and makes decisions. It is really quite an extraordinary book about an extraordinary institution that affects the lives of us all.
My only criticism of the book is that it didn't delve enough into the human elements of the story. We don't know a whole lot about Gideon the defendant and little about the personal lives of the attorneys. This would have added depth and more human interest to the story. But for those who like a good legal thriller or who are interested in the law, I would highly recommend this classic work.
This story is well written and interesting from the very beginning. The book traces the lives of the attorneys, the high powered Washington attorney who was appointed to advocate for Gideon as well as the former Florida District Attorney who carried the torch for the State of Florida. Lewis discusses all of the nuances of the legal process and how the Supreme Court processes cases and makes decisions. It is really quite an extraordinary book about an extraordinary institution that affects the lives of us all.
My only criticism of the book is that it didn't delve enough into the human elements of the story. We don't know a whole lot about Gideon the defendant and little about the personal lives of the attorneys. This would have added depth and more human interest to the story. But for those who like a good legal thriller or who are interested in the law, I would highly recommend this classic work.
judyward's review against another edition
5.0
The news this week of the death of Anthony Lewis at age 85 was enough to send me scurrying to the bookcase to dig out my copy of Gideon's Trumpet and reread it. Clarence Earl Gideon was arrested in Florida on a charge of breaking and entering and he was forced to represent himself at his trial because he couldn't afford an attorney. Gideon felt that this was a violation of his constitutional right to be represented by counsel and while he was in a Florida prison he sat down and wrote a petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court justices considered his petition in a Friday conference and decided to issue such a writ. This book follows the case of Clarence Earl Gideon through the judicial system culminating in the Supreme Court decision Gideon v. Wainwright which decided that every person has the right to be represented by counsel in a court of law and created the public defendant systems across the United States. As Anthony Lewis put it "the victory of Clarence Earl Gideon shows that even the poorest and least powerful of men--a convict with not even a friend to visit him in prison--can take his case to the highest court in the land and bring about a fundamental change in the law." This book puts a human face on each of the players in the case and ultimately reads like a novel. Highly recommended.