E-mail Interview
Bruce Jacob, Attorney for Florida in Gideon v. Wainwright
Re: Prosecution
"I think it is true that prosecutors today have to be more careful than they were back when not every defendant was represented by counsel. One reason is that criminal procedure is more complex than it was in 1960. We now have court rules and judicial opinions that make it more difficult for prosecutors (and defense lawyers, for that matter.) Keep in mind that many defendants in the 1950’s and early 1960’s were represented, even though there was no automatic requirement that they had to be represented. In Panama City there were so few criminal lawyers that Judge McCrary did not have enough lawyers to appoint in all the cases involving indigent defendants in his court. But, in most parts of Florida, attorneys were appointed, without fee, to represent indigents. I was appointed to several cases and almost every lawyer I knew had been appointed at least once. I think Louie Wainwright is right--Gideon has had an effect on prosecutors, making them more careful and more thorough in their preparation, but his conclusion also is partially due to changes in criminal procedure rules and judicial decisions".
Re: Criticisms
"I think Paul Butler is wrong. Where did he get his statistics? My experience has been that between 85 and 95 percent of criminal defendants always have been indigent. It is no different today than it was in 1963. That percentage has not changed."
Re: Constitutional Implications "Before Gideon there was a large body of Supreme Court case law to the effect that the states were free to experiment when it came to procedure in criminal cases. Gideon was the first of many cases, decided in the 1960’s (Duncan v. Louisiana was one) which put an end to that earlier concept and made it clear that the federal model, and the 4th, 5th 6th and 8th Amendments were applicable to the states. Now the procedure in federal courts and states is basically the same, and there is [no] room for experimentation that existed before Gideon and the other cases which required the states to follow federal rules. I personally think this is a good thing, but some would argue that we no longer have as much room as did before Gideon to try new methods of dealing with persons accused of crimes."
- 1. "Bruce R. Jacob," Stetson Law, accessed March 18, 2014.
- 2. Bruce R. Jacob, e-mail interview by the author, Tallahassee, FL, March 18, 2014.