Felix Frankfurter

Name: Carter v. Illinois — Dissent
Author: Felix Frankfurter

Summary

“Carter v. Illinois — Dissent”, is a work by Felix Frankfurter. It explores elements such as petitioner, counsel and plea of guilty.

Quotes from Carter v. Illinois — Dissent (Felix Frankfurter)

Felix Frankfurter, Carter v. Illinois — Dissent

“ The admitted facts of this case plainly reveal that the petitioner has not been convicted of murder and sentenced to 99 years in prison in accordance with due process of law. Rather he has been deprived of his freedom for life without the aid of an attorney to guide him along the complicated and twisting labyrinths of the law. And there is no affirmative indication that he intelligently waived his right to counsel or that he understood the intricate legal problems involved in his indictment and conviction. Due process cannot thrive in the absence of such evidence. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Felix Frankfurter, Carter v. Illinois — Dissent

“ Insistence upon counsel at all stages of a capital case, where an intelligent waiver is lacking, imposes no intolerable burden upon the law enforcement process. It is merely a recognition of our attempt to be civilized, a recognition that the process of condemning human life is to be judged by standards higher than those applied to a prosecution for violation of a minor ordinance or regulation. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Felix Frankfurter, Carter v. Illinois — Dissent

“ In my view, when undisputed facts appear in the record before us in a case involving a man's life or liberty, they should not be ignored if justice demands their use. Here the facts in question fortuna ely are not crucial, since the bare common law record alone reveals a lack of due process. But the additional facts do serve to emphasize the absence of an intelligent waiver of counsel and petitioner's failure to comprehend the legal problems placed in his path. They serve to make any decision on the issue in the case more intelligent and more just. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Felix Frankfurter, Carter v. Illinois — Dissent

“ Petitioner's very life and liberty depended upon his ability to comprehend the variety of crimes covered by the indictment and which one, if any, applied to the facts of his case. He was compelled to weigh the factors involved in a guilty plea against those resulting from the submission of his case to a jury. He was forced to judge the chances of setting up a successful defense. These are all complicated matters that only a man versed in the legal lore could hope to comprehend and to decide intelligently. Petitioner obviously was not of that type. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Felix Frankfurter, Carter v. Illinois — Dissent

“ If we assume that petitioner committed a crime, we cannot know the degree of prejudice which the denial of counsel caused. See Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 75, 76, 62 S.Ct. 457, 467, 468, 86 L.Ed. 680. Only counsel could discern from the facts whether a plea of not guilty to the offense charged or a plea of guilty to a lesser offense would be appropriate. A layman is usually no match for the skilled prosecutor whom he confronts in the court room. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Felix Frankfurter, Carter v. Illinois — Dissent

“ Yet at this crucial juncture petitioner lacked the aid and guidance of such a person. In my view, it is a gross miscarriage of justice to condemn a man to death or to life imprisonment in such a manner. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Felix Frankfurter, Carter v. Illinois — Dissent

“ By the rule there announced the record was inadequate only in one respect-the absence of a bill of exceptions showing that petitioner asked that an attorney be appointed for him. But that neglect by a defendant is not fatal, at least in a capital case. If a defendant is not capable of making his own defense, it is the duty of the court to appoint counsel, whether requested so to do or not. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Felix Frankfurter, Carter v. Illinois — Dissent

“ All that appears is that he 'persisted' in his desire to plead guilty and that the court convicted him of murder, the statutory punishment for which was death by electrocution or imprisonment for any period from fourteen years to life. ”

Felix Frankfurter

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Quotes from Carter v. Illinois — Dissent (Felix Frankfurter)

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