Betts v. Brady

Betts v. Brady, 316 U.S. 455 (1942), argued 13–14 Apr. 1942, decided 1 June 1942 by vote of 6 to 3; Roberts for the Court, black in dissent. After indictment for robbery, Betts asked the trial court to appoint an attorney to assist in his defense. The trial judge refused; Betts represented himself and was convicted. While incarcerated, Betts filed habeas corpus petitions. Lower courts rejected these petitions, and Betts filed a certiorari petition with the U.S. Supreme Court.

At issue before the Court was Betts's claim that the trial court's refusal to extend the right to counsel to noncapital felonies constituted a violation of the Sixth Amendment provision as incorporated by the Fourteenth Amendment (see Incorporation Doctrine). In his opinion for the Court, Justice Owen J. Roberts rejected Betts's claim, concluding that most states did not require appointment of counsel for fair trials and that the circumstances of his case did not suggest that such assistance was necessary. The Court distinguished Betts's situation from that of an earlier Court decision, Powell v. Alabama (1932), where young African‐American defendants were charged with a capital offense and where the Court concluded that appointed counsel was essential for a fair trial.

Justice Hugo Black was joined in dissent by Justices William O. Douglas and Frank Murphy. Black emphasized that Betts's petition would have been granted had he been a defendant in federal criminal proceedings, that the petitioner was entitled to the procedural protection provided by the federal Constitution, and that the right to counsel was fundamental to criminal due process.

Betts v. Brady was ultimately overruled by Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), where the minority position in Betts was unanimously adopted by the Court.

See also Counsel, Right to; Due Process, Procedural.

Susette M. Talarico