Georgia Magazine - January 2012 - (Page 9)

Liberty notes Right to counsel In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right … to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence. —From the Sixth Amendment The right to counsel was included in the Sixth Amendment because it had not been a right of defendants in English courts. In U.S. courts in modern times, the issue has not been whether an attorney may represent someone, but whether a defendant can afford legal representation, and if he cannot, whether the court will provide it. The U.S. Supreme Court strongly supported the right to counsel in a 1938 decision, Johnson v. Zerbst. In the case, two Marines on leave were convicted of counterfeiting and then imprisoned. They were far away from friends and family and did not have funds to hire an attorney. The court found that they were deprived of their right to an attorney, and the case was reversed and sent back to the lower court. The Supreme Court stated: The purpose of the constitutional guaranty of a right to counsel is to protect an accused from conviction resulting from his own ignorance of his legal and constitutional rights. … 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. … If this requirement of the Sixth Amendment is not complied with, the court no longer has jurisdiction to proceed. In Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), the Supreme Court applied the right to counsel to the states. —Jim Jess For more about the right to counsel, see page 34B of the January 2011 digital edition web exclusive online at www.georgiamaga Picture this? Guess where this is and you could Win $25! Welcome to “Picture this?” a monthly contest where we print a reader’s photo showing a Georgia place—and you get a chance to guess where the picture was taken! We will reward the reader whose photo is published—as well as the person who correctly guesses where it was taken—with $25 each. (If more than one person guesses correctly, we’ll draw from among all correct answers to determine the winner.) Winners’ names and where the photo was taken will appear in a future issue. Ready to guess? Send your guess by Jan. 20, 2012, to GEORGIA Magazine, Attn: “Picture this,” P.O. Box 1707, Tucker, GA 30085, or email to picturethis@georgiaemc.com. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number. Have a photo? Send your original photos of locations that are easy to identify, but not too prominent (i.e., the Big Chicken in Marietta or Stone Mountain) to the address listed above, or you can email 300-dpi photos to us at picturethis@georgiaemc.com. Please send photos and guesses in separate envelopes. Our winners from the November 2011 issue are Beverly Johnson, of Brooklet, who took the photo, and Courtney Landrum, of Mitchell, who correctly guessed that it is the war memorial at the Warren County Courthouse in Warrenton. The memorial symbolizes the tribute typically made on the battleﬁeld when a serviceman or woman is lost. Surviving comrades arrange the fallen soldier’s boots, inverted riﬂe and helmet and gather for a solemn ceremony. Celebrating the Georgia lifestyle GEMC ® web exclusive zine.org. January 2011 November 2011 More online at www.georgiamagazine.org 9 http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - January 2012

Georgia Magazine - January 2012
Viewpoint
Mailbox
Georgia News
Picture This?
Calendar of Events
Currents
Special Energy Report
What It Takes to Be a Roller Girl
A Nation Reunited
My Georgia
Georgia Gardens
Georgia Cooks
More “big” eateries and recipes
Snapshot
Bonus Snapshot submissions
Gardens plant of the month; Liberty notes
More roller derby photos
Festivals in Fitzgerald and Washington
January energy-effi ciency tips

Georgia Magazine - January 2012