H.Res. 108 — Introduced in House

IV 113th CONGRESS 1st Session H. RES. 108 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 12, 2013 Mr. Deutch (for himself, Mr. Chabot, Mr. Nadler, Mr. Conyers, and Mr. Watt) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Recognizing the 50th anniversary of the landmark case Gideon v. Wainwright, in which the Supreme Court held that counsel must be provided to indigent defendants in all felony cases. Whereas, on March 18, 1963, the Supreme Court recognized in Gideon v. Wainwright that counsel must be provided to indigent defendants in all felony cases; Whereas the Supreme Court held that providing counsel to indigent defendants in all felony cases meets the essential requirements of the 6th amendment to the United States Constitution; Whereas the Supreme Court held in Argersinger v. Hamlin that indigent defendants are entitled, under the 6th amendment to the United States Constitution, to court-appointed counsel in all cases where imprisonment is a possibility; Whereas 50 years after the Gideon v. Wainwright decision, excessive caseloads are preventing counsel for indigent defendants from providing quality representation; and Whereas the provision of counsel to indigent defendants often lacks fairness and increases the risk that poor people will be wrongfully convicted: Now, therefore, be it That the House of Representatives— (1) recognizes and honors the 50th anniversary of the decision in Gideon v. Wainwright; (2) encourages all people in the United States to recognize and honor the 50th anniversary of the Gideon v. Wainwright decision; and (3) supports strategies to improve the criminal justice system to ensure that indigent defendants in all felony cases are adequately represented by counsel.