Book Review: The Right to Counsel in American Courts

Abstract

The story of the right to counsel in criminal cases comprises a fascinating chapter in the annals of Anglo-American jurisprudence. One might think that the basic principles would be reasonably clear. Our whole concept of law enforcement as an accusatory process, our theory of the trial as a contest staged before judge and jury, our traditional concern test a powerful state overwhelm an isolated citizen, our feeling for the worth and indeed the salvation of the individual human being - to say nothing of the complexities of criminal law and procedure - all would seem to demand that the accused in a criminal case always and at all times be furnished with the aid of counsel. How else can the accused play his allotted role in the criminal process? How else can the protections theoretically accorded to the individual be realized in practice? Is not the spectacle of an accused trying to hold up his end of the balance, alone and unaided, an obvious mockery of the whole criminal process?