BETTS v. BRADY

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Case Basics
Docket No. 
837
Petitioner 
Betts
Respondent 
Brady
Decided By 
Stone Court (1941-1942)
Opinion 
316 U.S. 455 (1942)
Granted 
Monday, February 16, 1942
Argued 
April 13-14, 1942
Decided 
Monday, June 1, 1942
Advocates
Jesse Slingluff Jr.
(argued the cause for the petitioner)
G. Van Velsor Wolf
(argued the cause for the petitioner)
William C. Walsh
(Attorney General of Maryland, argued the cause for the respondent)
Robert E. Clapp Jr.
(argued the cause for the respondent)
Tags
Term:
Location: Circuit Court for Carroll County
Facts of the Case 

Betts was indicted for robbery in Maryland. An indigent, he was unable to afford counsel and requested one be appointed for him. The judge in the case denied the request, and Betts subsequently pled not guilty while maintaining he had a right to counsel and arguing his own defense.

Question 

Does denying a request for counsel for an indigent defendant violate the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment which embraces the defendant's right to counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment?

Conclusion 

No. The Court ruled that the previously discovered right to counsel provided by the fourteenth amendment does not compel states to provide counsel to any defendant. Justice Owen Roberts' opinion asserted that the right to counsel merely prevented the state from interfering in a defendant’s request for representation rather than requiring a state to offer counsel.

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BETTS v. BRADY. The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. 26 April 2013. <http://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1949/1941/1941_837>.
BETTS v. BRADY, The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1949/1941/1941_837 (last visited April 26, 2013).
"BETTS v. BRADY," The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, accessed April 26, 2013, http://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1949/1941/1941_837.