Johnson v. Zerbst

Appellant

John A. Johnson

Appellee

Fred G. Zerbst, Warden, U.S. Penitentiary, Atlanta, Georgia

Appellant's Claim

That the court must appoint lawyers to represent indigent defendants in federal criminal cases.

Chief Lawyer for Appellant

Elbert P. Tuttle

Chief Lawyer for Appellee

Bates Booth

Justices for the Court

Hugo Lafayette Black (writing for the Court), Pierce Butler, James Clark McReynolds, Stanley Forman Reed

Justices Dissenting

Louis D. Brandeis, Charles Evans Hughes, Owen Josephus Roberts, Harlan Fiske Stone (Benjamin N. Cardozo did not participate)

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

23 May 1938

Decision

The Supreme Court held that counsel must be appointed for all defendants in federal criminal trials who cannot afford to hire their own attorneys.

Related Cases

• Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932).
• Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963).
• Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).
• Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 U.S. 25 (1972).

Sources

The Federal Judiciary Home Page. http://www.uscourts.gov.

Further Readings

• Bradley, Craig M. The Failure of the Criminal Procedure Revolution. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1993.
• Galloway, John. The Supreme Court & The Rights of the Accused. New York, NY: Facts on File, 1973.
• Garcia, Alfredo. The Sixth Amendment in Modern American Jurisprudence: A Critical Perspective. New York, NY: Greenwood Press, 1992.