Bill Text: TX SCR33 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Recognizing the 60th anniversary of the United States Supreme Court decision Gideon v. Wainwright.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-05-23 - Committee report sent to Calendars [SCR33 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-SCR33-Comm_Sub.html
| By: West | S.C.R. No. 33 | |
| (Moody) | ||
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| WHEREAS, The 88th Legislature of the State of Texas is | ||
| pleased to recognize the 60th anniversary of the momentous United | ||
| States Supreme Court decision rendered in Gideon v. Wainwright, | ||
| which established the legal precedent that affirmed a criminal | ||
| defendant's right to state appointed counsel and thereby | ||
| transformed the nation's criminal justice system; and | ||
| WHEREAS, On March 18, 1963, the United States Supreme Court | ||
| unanimously decided that the Constitution of the United States | ||
| requires states to provide counsel in criminal cases for all | ||
| indigent defendants who are charged with a felony and who cannot | ||
| afford to hire private representation; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In that hallmark case, the court reaffirmed the | ||
| right that defendants have to a fair trial, and it further | ||
| acknowledged that the adversarial system serves as an effective | ||
| means of arriving at fair results only when both sides are | ||
| adequately represented and are allowed to have the resources | ||
| necessary to present their case effectively; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In the words of Justice Hugo Black, author of the | ||
| unanimous decision, "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"; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The Supreme Court has expanded on its rationale in | ||
| Gideon to ensure the right to counsel for indigent defendants in | ||
| juvenile cases and in all cases where the defendant faces the | ||
| possibility of incarceration; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In light of the foregoing Constitutional mandates, | ||
| Texas passed the Fair Defense Act of 2001 to better ensure that the | ||
| constitutional rights of all Texans are protected; the success of | ||
| the Fair Defense Act is seen in the many persons receiving public | ||
| defense services and earlier access to counsel along with the | ||
| improved quality of service in the State of Texas; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The Fair Defense Act gave birth to the Task Force on | ||
| Indigent Defense, now called the Texas Indigent Defense Commission, | ||
| which protects the right to counsel and improves Texas public | ||
| defense; the commission has succeeded through the creation of | ||
| several new public defender offices and Managed Assigned Counsel | ||
| programs that provide public defense services to more than 70 | ||
| counties; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby affirm the principles of fairness and justice recognized in | ||
| Gideon v. Wainwright, a case that symbolizes a monumental step | ||
| forward in American justice and upon this occasion of the 60th | ||
| anniversary of this historic Supreme Court case, recognize and | ||
| honor the work being done across the nation and the State of Texas | ||
| to guarantee access to counsel and ensure fairness and justice for | ||
| all; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared in honor | ||
| of this special occasion. | ||
