Reclaiming Gideon

Stephen B. Bright

President and Senior Counsel, Southern Center for Human Rights
Begin: 2:20

Derwyn Bunton

Chief District Defender, Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Begin: 13:54

David Porter

Assistant Federal Defender, Eastern District of California
Begin: 28:25

M. Clara Hernandez

Chief Public Defender, El Paso County, Texas
Begin: 21:46

Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman

New York State Court of Appeals
Begin: 38:43

Scott Burns

Executive Director, National District Attorneys Association
Begin: 44:40

Fifty years ago the United States Supreme Court decided Gideon v. Wainwright, one of the most renowned and celebrated cases in our constitutional history. Today we recognize Gideon not only for the right to court appointed counsel that it protects but also for the commitment to equal justice under law that it symbolizes. Some, however, have argued that Gideon has proved to be only an empty promise and that the right to meaningful representation is more illusory than real. Focusing on the rights of indigents, this panel will examine Gideon and the state of the American justice system (civil and criminal) at the federal, state, and local levels.

Speakers include:

Stephen B. Bright, President and Senior Counsel, Southern Center for Human Rights
Derwyn Bunton, Chief District Defender, Orleans Parish, Louisiana
Scott Burns, Executive Director, National District Attorneys Association
M. Clara Hernandez, Chief Public Defender, El Paso County, Texas
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman, New York State Court of Appeals
David Porter, Assistant Federal Defender, Eastern District of California