In 1961, a Florida man named Clarence Gideon was arrested and charged with felony burglary. Gideon could not afford an attorney so he asked the court to appoint counsel for him. The Florida judge denied the request, stating it was obligated to appoint counsel for an indigent only in death penalty cases.
Gideon defended himself, was convicted and was sentenced to five years in prison. From his prison cell, writing on prison stationery with a No. 2 pencil, Gideon appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which agreed to hear his case.
The United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gideon in 1963, holding that states have a constitutional obligation to provide counsel to indigent defendants in felony cases. That right later was extended to all prosecutions which carry the possibility of jail time.
In 1965, in response to the Gideon case, Minnesota established a public defender system creating both full-time and part-time public defense offices. The system was county-based and primarily funded by counties. In 1989 the legislature began a program that shifted the financial burden of funding public defense from the counties to the state.
Minnesota's public defender system is governed by the State Board of Public Defense, which has four attorney members appointed by the Minnesota Supreme Court and three public members appointed by the governor. The board appoints the state public defender and a chief administrator, appoints a chief public defender in each of the state's ten judicial districts, recommends a budget to the legislature and distributes funding throughout the system.
The chief public defender here in the Ninth Judicial District has an office in Bemidji. There are also public defender offices in Brainerd, Crookston, Grand Rapids, Thief River Falls and Walker. Each office provides public defender services for a group of counties.
Only persons who are financially unable to hire an attorney are eligible for a public defender. A defendant applying for a public defender has to fill out an application (under oath) and disclose their financial circumstances. Most of those who get a public defender will be required to pay some attorney fees.
We have an adversarial justice system in which it is assumed that in our search for the truth we are best served when all parties to a case have adequate representation. It is certainly true that many individuals can and do proceed without an attorney and receive a fair disposition of their case. It is also true that in many cases a fair result is obtained only because of the involvement of one of our local public defenders.
Public defenders play a crucial role in our system of justice. I see public defenders at work every day. Some of the best and most dedicated attorneys in our district are public defenders. They handle caseloads that are double what they should be, performing a difficult job that is often misunderstood and unappreciated.
As for Gideon, he remained in prison even though he won his case before the United States Supreme Court. What he won, however, was a right to a new trial with appointed counsel.
Two years after he was originally convicted, Gideon was represented by an attorney at his second trial. The case lasted most of the day. The jury deliberated for just over an hour and unanimously reached a verdict of not guilty.
And Clarence Gideon, finally exonerated, walked out of the courtroom a free man.
As always, remember it is your court.
Paul Rasmussen is a district court judge in the Ninth Judicial District. He is chambered in Clearwater County and works primarily in Clearwater and Hubbard counties. His e-mail address is paul.rasmussen@courts.state.mn.us.
