93. Gideon's Trumpet - Anthony Lewis

I was supposed to read this book the summer before I started law school (but never did). Now that I've finally read it three years later, I can definitely understand why it was assigned! This book tells the story behind Gideon v. Wainwright, the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision which held that states are required under the Sixth Amendment (of course, as incorporated through the Fourteenth) to provide counsel for criminal defendants who are unable to afford their own attorneys. I say that I now understand why it was assigned because Lewis does a fantastic job of explaining how a case gets all the way up to the Supreme Court; the procedure behind four justices deciding whether to grant a writ of certiorari; the role of the law clerks; etc. What I particularly enjoyed about this book was how Lewis gave so much context and background of the case itself, such as including letters that the defendant (Gideon) wrote to his lawyers.
For example, when Gideon learned that attorney Abe Fortas, had been appointed to represent him for his appeal to the Supreme Court, he wrote to Fortas asking him if there was any information he could provide that would help with the case. Fortas replied and told Gideon that "a little background" would help ... Gideon replied with a twenty-two page letter about his entire life that concluded as follows:

I have no illusions about law and courts or the people who are involved in them. I have read the complete history of law ever since the Romans first started writing them down and before of the laws of religions. I believe that each new era finds an improvement in law each year brings something new for the benefit of mankind. Maybe this will be one of those small steps forward, in the past thirty-five years I have seen great advancement in Courts in penal servitude. Thank you for reading all of this. Please try to believe that all I want now from life is the chance for the love of my children the only real love I have ever had.

Doesn't that put such a human face on such a landmark decision?! In the decision itself, the Court overruled Betts v. Brady and held that the right to the assistance of counsel was a fundamental right, essential for a fair trial, and emphasized the procedural safeguards needed for due process of law.

The amount of detail might make this book more likeable by lawyers and/or people who are interested in the law. Although some of the case law discussed is a bit outdated (this book was published in 1964), it's a great read.