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DEFENDANT’S MEMORANDUM OF LAW AND AUTHORITIES – 1
XXXX
Phone
Email
Defendant in pro per
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF XXX
COUNTY OF XXXX
XXXX DIVISION
STATE OF CALIFORNIA,
Plaintiff,
vs.
XXXX,
Defendant
Case No.: XXX
DEFENDANT’S MEMORANDUM OF
LAW AND AUTHORITIES
MEMORANDUM OF LAW AND AUTHORITIES
The Sixth Amendment guarantees an accused the right to have the Assistance of Counsel
for his defense.
The Supreme Court first ruled on the issue of indigent defense in XXXX
U.S. 45 (1932), which held, in part, that the state denied the defendants’ due process rights by
not providing access to counsel, despite the defendants’ inability to pay legal fees. Since
the Gideon decision, the Supreme Court has held that state courts must appoint counsel in
misdemeanor cases that carry the possibility of substantial jail or prison sentences. This applies
even when the defendant’s specific circumstances carry no actual risk of confinement, such as
when a defendant was facing, at worst, a suspended sentence of more than one year. Alabama v.
Shelton, 535 U.S. 654 (XXXX).
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DEFENDANT’S MEMORANDUM OF LAW AND AUTHORITIES – 2
“The Sixth Amendment withholds from … courts, in all criminal proceedings, the power
and authority to deprive an accused of his life or liberty unless he has or waives the assistance of
counsel.” Johnson v. Zerbst, (1938) 304 U.S. 458, 463.
The right to counsel in criminal proceedings was deemed necessary by the Framers of the
Constitution, to “insure fundamental human rights of life and liberty” and to serve “as essential
barriers against arbitrary or unjust deprivation of human rights.” Johnson v. Zerbst, supra, 304
U.S. at p. 462. Without the safeguards of the Sixth Amendment, justice cannot be done. Ibid.
“It embodies a realistic recognition of the obvious truth that the average defendant does
not have the professional legal skill to protect himself when brought before a tribunal with power
to take his life or liberty, wherein the prosecution is presented by experienced and learned
counsel. That which is simple, orderly and necessary to the lawyer – to the untrained layman –
may appear intricate, complex, and mysterious. Consistently with the wise policy of the Sixth
Amendment and other parts of our fundamental charter, this Court has pointed to the humane
policy of the modern criminal law which now provides that a defendant if he be poor, may have
counsel furnished him by the state, not infrequently more able than the attorney for the state.”
Johnson v. Zerbst, supra, 304 U.S. at pp. 462-463, quoting Powell v State of Alabama¸ (1932)
287 U.S. 45, 66.
The Sixth Amendment also safeguards the fundamental right to be heard, integral to the
right to due process and a fair trial. Powell, supra, at p. 66; Grosjean v. American Press Co.,
(1936) 297 U.S. 233, 243-244.
“The right to be heard would be, in many cases, of little avail if it did not comprehend the
right to be heard by counsel. Even the intelligent and educated layman has small and sometimes
no skill in the science of law. If charged with crime, he is incapable, generally, of determining
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DEFENDANT’S MEMORANDUM OF LAW AND AUTHORITIES – 3
for himself whether the indictment is good or bad. He is unfamiliar with the rules of evidence.
Left without the aid of counsel he may be put on trial without a proper charge, and convicted
upon incompetent evidence, or evidence irrelevant to the issue or otherwise inadmissible. He
lacks both the skill and knowledge adequately to prepare his defence, even though he have a
perfect one. He requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings about him.”
Johnson v. Zerbst, supra, at p. 463, quoting Powell, supra, at pp. 68-69.
And if a defendant in a criminal proceeding is unable to obtain counsel, counsel must be
furnished at the State’s expense. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) 372 U.S. 335, 344. As the
Supreme Court reasoned in Gideon, “in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person
haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is
provided for him.”
“Governments, both state and federal, quite properly spend vast sums of money to
establish machinery to try defendants accused of crime. Lawyers to prosecute are everywhere
deemed essential to protect the public’s interest in an orderly society. Similarly, there are few
defendants charged with crime, few indeed, who fail to hire the best lawyers they can get to
prepare and present their defenses, That government hires lawyers to prosecute and defendants
who have the money hire lawyers to defend are the strongest indications of the widespread belief
that lawyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries.” Ibid.
The State’s continued refusal to appoint counsel to represent Defendant constitutes a
denial of his Sixth Amendment rights, right to due process, and right to a fair trial. Defendant has
presented tax returns to prove that he has low income which makes it impossible for him to hire
an attorney. However, the City of Santa Barbara has vehemently declined to appoint counsel to
him, claiming that he has property. Defendant owns three houses and half an apartment. All the
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DEFENDANT’S MEMORANDUM OF LAW AND AUTHORITIES – 4
houses have loans on them. The loans add to Defendant’s financial struggles.
REASONS WHEREFORE, PREMISES CONSIDERED, Defendant respectfully requests
this Honorable Court to ISSUE an Order compelling the State of XXXX to appoint an
attorney to represent Defendant to the completion of this case.
Dated this ____ day of XXXX.
Respectfully Submitted,
___________________________________
Insert Defendant’s Name
Defendant in pro per
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