The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution
guarantees every legal citizen of the country the right to a speedy and public trial,the
right to an impartial jury, the right to counsel, and the right to be informed of the
accusations, among other points. Theoretically, what Atticus Finch has said to the
public and to the jury in the courtroom of Maycomb, Alabama, in the 1930s yet holds true
today.
However, just as Tom did not have an impartial jury,
so, too, do some people not receive a trial with an impartial jury. And, critical to the
outcome of many trials is the type of counsel that a defendent has. Certainly, a public
defender will not perform as well in the courtroom as a high profile attorney does. The
O.J. Simpson murder case (People v. Simpson) is a prime example of
the difference that top attorneys can make for an individual. Los Angeles County
prosecutors believed that they had a solid case as they had Simpson's DNA on the
victims' bodies and clothing. But, the team of lawyers for Simpson, led by Johnnie
Cochran and Robert Shapiro, clever and talented lawyers, were able to convince a jury
that there was reasonable doubt regarding the DNA evidence because blood sample evidence
had allegedly been mishandled.
As Johnnie Cochran himself
said years after Simpson's trial, "The color of justice is green." With enough money,
he implied, people can receive the type of "justice" which they seek. Now, in the case
of Tom Robinson, he had no money, but his public defender was Atticus Finch. However,
Tom did not have Civil Rights legislation working for him, so his chances for a fair
trial, while theoretically the same as for a white man, brought him no
justice.
So, while the Sixth Amendment does yet exist and
hold as true in 2011 as it did in 1930, there are other factors today just as there were
then in acquiring a truly fair and just trial.
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