Constitutional Due Process Before entering the United States Supreme Court building, one may look up and see the words "Equal Justice Under Law." The idea that anyone in this country can have their grievances heard and adjudicated is all too important to how we continue to develop as a society. But is justice really equal? Is our criminal justice system in particular, due process, equally applicable to all citizens or is it a flawed or deficient idea? Take for example the case of Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) and the landmark ruling that everyone has the right to a defense attorney. The Gideon case is so important in that it highlighted the injustice or unequal treatment that citizens were receiving from state courts. Gideon, an ordinary man, was charged by the State of Florida for breaking into a pool hall with the intent to commit a misdemeanor, which under Florida law is actually a felony . He appeared before a judge and asked for representation because he could not afford it. His request was refused. Gideon then represented himself in court and was subsequently convicted and imprisoned. In accordance with the laws of the land, he sought relief and filed a petition for habeas corpus based on the violation of his constitutional rights. He lost that argument too. The reasoning behind this refusal was because Florida law only provided attorneys for capital offenses. His repeated attempts for equal treatment under the law continued, and he sought relief from the United States Supreme Court. His fight went directly against an earlier court ruling in Betts v. Brady (1942), which essentially ruled that a state was not required to provide counsel in certain circumstances because it did not violate not due process. Held in the Betts decision...... middle of paper ......se which is flawed, but in reality it allows us to adapt to changing social views. Works Cited Adler, F., Mueller, GOW and Laufer, WS (2012). Criminology (8th ed.). McGraw-Hill. Retrieved from http://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781308000893/pages/94242989Sandefur, T. (2012). In defense of substantive due process or the promise of lawful government. Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, 35(1). 283-350. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/922364239?accountid=8289Peak, K.J. (2010). Administration of Justice: Managing Police, Courts, and Corrections (6th ed.), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice HallBetts v. Brady, 316 US 455 (1942). Retrieved from https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/316/455/case.htmlGideon v. Wainwright, 372 US 335 (1963). Retrieved from https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/372/335/case.html