158. Given the huge increase in law school enrollments over the past few years, see Ruud, That Burgeoning Law School Enrollment, 58 A.B.A.J. 13, at 145-156. The factors mentioned above, and such standards or guidelines to assure fairness as might be prescribed in each jurisdiction by legislation or rule of court, should be considered where relevant. Id. The right of an indigent defendant in a criminal trial to the assistance of counsel, which is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment as made applicable to the States by the Fourteenth, Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 83 S.Ct.
§ 3006A, which provides one of the most generous compensation plans, the rates for appointed counsel—$20 per hour spent out of court, $30 per hour of court time, subject to a maximum total fee of $400 for a misdemeanor case and $1,000 for a felony—are low by American standards. Presumably a mistrial would be declared, counsel appointed, and a new trial ordered. I, § 11 (1968); Idaho Code §§ 19-851, 19-852 (Supp. . An indigent was convicted on a misdemeanor weapons charge. This would involve delays and frustrations which would not be a real contribution to the administration of justice.'19. DOUGLAS, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which BRENNAN, STEWART, WHITE, MARSHALL, and BLACKMUN, JJ., joined. Though undoubtedly smaller than most, Wood is not dissimilar to hundreds of communities in the United States with no or very few lawyers, with meager financial resources, but with the need to have some sort of local court system to deal with minor offenses.28 It is quite common for the more numerous petty offenses in such towns to be tried by local courts or magistrates while the more serious offenses are tried in a county-wide court located in the county seat.29 It is undoubtedly true that some injustices result from the informal procedures of these local courts when counsel is not furnished; certainly counsel should be furnished to some indigents in some cases. Perhaps it will be said that I give undue weight both to the likelihood of short-term 'chaos' and to the possibility of long-term adverse effects on the system.

. I join the opinion of the Court and add only an observation upon its discussion of legal resources, ante at 407 U. S. 37 n. 7. The President's Commission recommended that counsel be provided for criminal defendants who face "a significant penalty," and at least to those who are in danger of "substantial loss of liberty." Id., § 4.1, pp. Judges face long calendars with the certain knowledge that their calendars tomorrow and the next day will be, if anything longer, and so there is no choice but to dispose of the cases. [Footnote 2/18] ". A unanimous Court extended that right to cover defendants charged with misdemeanors who faced the possibility of a jail sentence. It is true, as the majority notes, that there are some classes of imprisonable offenses for which imprisonment is rarely imposed. Although welcome progress is being made with programs, supported by the American Bar Association, to enlist the involvement of law students in indigent representation, the problems of meeting state requirements and of assuring the requisite control and supervision are far from insubstantial. In such cases the licenses are not to be taken away without that procedural due process required by the Fourteenth Amendment.' Of the 19,187 convicted of more serious traffic offenses, such as driving under the influence, reckless driving, and leaving the scene of an accident, 404 (2.1%) were subject to some form of imprisonment. The Florida court claimed that since jury trials were not required for misdemeanors, then neither was counsel. We must conclude, therefore, that the problems associated with misdemeanor and petty5 offenses often require the presence of counsel to insure the accused a fair trial. If a judge has predetermined that no imprisonment will be imposed with respect to a particular category of cases, the indigent who is convicted will often receive no meaningful sentence. American Civil Liberties Union, Legal Counsel for Misdemeanants, Preliminary Report 1 (1970). §§ 171.188, 193.140 (1969); N.Mex.Stat.Ann.
But the Solicitor General also recognized that a second trial, even with counsel, might be unfair if the prosecutor could make use of evidence which came out at the first trial when the accused was uncounseled. The step we take today should cause no surprise to the legal profession. CLEPR Newsletter, May 1972, p. 3. There is evidence of the prejudice which results to misdemeanor defendants from this 'assembly-line justice.' If the second trial were held before the same judge, he might no longer be open-minded. Providing Defense Services 40 (Approved Draft 1968). 8.04; La.Rev.Stat. Thus, an accused indigent would be entitled in some courts to counsel while in other courts in the same jurisdiction an indigent accused of the same offense would have no counsel. In few communities are there full-time public defenders available for, or private lawyers specializing in, petty cases.

293, 217 S.W. This will mean not only that more defense counsel must be provided, but also additional prosecutors and better facilities for securing information about the accused as it bears on the probability of a decision to confine. The Court held that the offense was a "petty" one, and could be tried without a jury. 372 U.S., at 343—345, 83 S.Ct., at 796—797. Challenge, supra, n. 407 U.S. 25fn2/13|>13, at 150. After emphasizing that the new constitutional rule should not be made retroactive, the Solicitor General commented on the 'chaos' which could result from any mandatory requirement of counsel in misdemeanor cases: '(I)f . The majority opinion concludes that, absent a valid waiver, a person may not be imprisoned even for lesser offenses unless he was represented by counsel at the trial. Your essay, it seems to me, is in complete concurrence with how Narduzzi, Capel and the other Pitt coaches are leading (and recruiting for) their programs. The holding of the Court today may well add large new burdens on a profession already overtaxed, but the dynamics of the profession have a way of rising to the burdens placed on it. HT$"¼ «q7ãpµ­:G)6±ѭ fE:•—ÕsÕé#˜²Þé|ä¿ý¾Þx÷f^Ñ ÈbÞëtgWzÜ1o脹k7°ìÔd1cü. Left without the aid of counsel, he may be put on trial without a proper charge, and convicted upon incompetent evidence, or evidence irrelevant to the issue or otherwise inadmissible. . § 29—1803 (1964); Nev.Rev.Stat. In concluding, I emphasize my long-held conviction that the adversary system functions best and most fairly only when all parties are represented by competent counsel. The trial of vagrancy cases is illustrative. ABA Report, New Perspectives on Urban Crime iv (1972). See 1 L. Silverstein, Defense of the Poor in Criminal Cases in American State Courts 132 (1965). Although the Court's opinion does not deal explicitly with any sentence other than deprivation of liberty however brief, the according of special constitutional status to cases where such a sentence is imposed may derogate from the need for counsel in other types of cases, unless the Court embraces an even broader prophylactic rule. The community could simply not enforce its own laws. At the same time parties in civil cases and persons accused of misdemeanors were entitled to the full assistance of counsel.

has a right to appointed counsel in all cases in which there is a due process right to a jury trial. He requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings against him. In creating categories of offenses which by law are imprisonable, but for which he would not impose jail sentences, a judge will be overruling de facto the legislative determination as to the appropriate range of punishment for the particular offense.