Bill Text: TX HR455 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainwright.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-09 - Referred to Criminal Jurisprudence [HR455 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HR455-Introduced.html
88R15588 CJM-D | ||
By: Smith | H.R. No. 455 |
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WHEREAS, March 18, 2023, marks the 60th anniversary of the | ||
landmark Supreme Court ruling in Gideon v. Wainwright, which found | ||
that under the United States Constitution, state courts must | ||
provide attorneys to indigent defendants in all felony cases; and | ||
WHEREAS, In Gideon v. Wainwright, the United States Supreme | ||
Court reaffirmed the right of defendants to a fair trial and | ||
recognized that our adversarial system of criminal justice depends | ||
upon a fair contest between the prosecution and the defense; | ||
moreover, it acknowledged that this system is an effective means of | ||
arriving at just results only when both the prosecution and the | ||
defense are adequately prepared and equipped to present their case | ||
effectively under the law; and | ||
WHEREAS, Justice Hugo Black, who wrote the unanimous | ||
decision, noted: "The right of one charged with crime to counsel may | ||
not be deemed fundamental and essential to fair trials in some | ||
countries, but it is in ours"; the Supreme Court has expanded on its | ||
rationale in Gideon v. Wainwright to ensure the right to counsel for | ||
indigent defendants in juvenile cases and in all cases that carry | ||
the possibility of incarceration for defendants; and | ||
WHEREAS, Because the assistance of counsel is essential to | ||
effectuate a meaningful defense when faced with prosecution by the | ||
state, Texas passed the Fair Defense Act of 2001 to better ensure | ||
that the constitutional rights of all Texans would be more reliably | ||
safeguarded; implementation of the Act has enabled many more people | ||
to receive public defense services and earlier access to counsel, | ||
and it has improved the quality of legal assistance provided; and | ||
WHEREAS, The Fair Defense Act created the Task Force on | ||
Indigent Defense, now known as the Texas Indigent Defense | ||
Commission, to provide technical support to counties to develop and | ||
maintain quality, cost-effective public defense systems, as well as | ||
to offer financial assistance to meet the new requirements and to | ||
foster innovation in the way public defense services are provided; | ||
state grant funds administered by the commission have led to the | ||
creation of several new public defender offices and managed | ||
assigned counsel programs to provide public defense services in | ||
more than 70 counties; and | ||
WHEREAS, Affirming essential principles of fairness and | ||
justice, Gideon v. Wainwright marked a turning point in American | ||
jurisprudence, and it is indeed fitting to recognize the vital role | ||
this decision has played over the past half century in guaranteeing | ||
access to counsel for all; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Supreme | ||
Court's decision in Gideon v. Wainwright. |