Poor and The Justice system In 1963, the Supreme Court ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright that every criminal defendant has a right to have an attorney. The poor are appointed an attorney normally known as a public defender to defend them. The poor are given substandard representation in courts due to lack of funds and a broken criminal justice system. The criminal justice system has made strides forward. “The Sixth Amendment right to counsel was generally …showed first 75 words of 966 total…

…showed last 75 words of 966 total…of the attorneys appointed by the Supreme Court to represent Gideon on his appeal makes one proud of law and lawyers in this country. The simple elegance of the majority opinion written by Justice Hugo Black, is also impressive. In that opinion Justice Black proclaimed the “obvious truth (that) any person hauled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured of a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.”