Johnson v. Zerbst

Infobox SCOTUS case
Litigants = Johnson v. Zerbst
ArgueDate = April 4
ArgueYear = 1938
DecideDate = May 23
DecideYear = 1938
FullName = Johnson v. Zerbst, Warden, United States Penitentiary, Atlanta, Ga.
USVol = 304
USPage = 458
Citation =
Prior =
Subsequent =
Holding = Since the Sixth Amendment constitutionally entitles one charged with crime to the assistance of counsel, compliance with this constitutional mandate is an essential jurisdictional prerequisite to a federal court's authority to deprive an accused of his life or liberty.
SCOTUS = 1938
Majority = Black
JoinMajority = Hughes, Brandeis, Stone, Roberts
Concurrence = Reed
Dissent = McReynolds
Dissent2 = Butler
NotParticipating = Cardozo
LawsApplied =

"Johnson v. Zerbst", 304 U.S. 458 (1938), was a United States Supreme Court case, in which the petitioner, Johnson, had been convicted in federal court of feloniously possessing, uttering, and passing counterfeit money in a trial where he had not been represented by an attorney but instead by himself. Johnson filed for habeas corpus relief, claiming that his Sixth Amendment right to counsel had been violated, but he was denied by both a federal district court and the court of appeals.

upreme Court involvement

The United States Supreme Court agreed to hear the case and overturned the decisions of the lower courts. In a six to two decision, the Court held that the federal court had infringed upon Johnson’s life and liberty by not giving him counsel to defend him during trial. In the majority opinion written by Justice Hugo Black, the Court held that,

This set the precedent that a person has the right to be represented by an attorney unless they waive their right to counsel knowing full well the potential consequences. This precedent, however, at the time only made this right applicable to federal defendants and did not extend quite yet to defendants in trials under state jurisdiction, something that changed with the "Gideon v. Wainwright" decision.

ee also

*List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 304

External links

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