Griffin v. Illinois, 351 U.S. 12

Supreme Court of the United States

1956

Chapter

6

Title

Implied Fundamental Rights

Page

795

Topic

Criminals right to transcript cannot be denied on the basis of ability to pay.

Quick Notes

The prisoners filed a petition under the Illinois Post-Conviction Hearing Act, in order to obtain a certified copy of the entire record for their appeal. The state supreme court affirmed the dismissal of their petition because the charges raised no substantial state or federal constitutional questions.

Rule

o         Criminals right to transcript cannot be denied on the basis of ability to pay

o         Paying costs is irrelevant to innocence

o         Cannot discriminate on the basis of money when denying appellant review

Reasoning

o         May lose their life, liberty or property because of unjust convictions

Summary

o         There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has.

Book Name

Constitutional Law : Stone, Seidman, Sunstein, Tushnet.  ISBN:  978-0-7355-7719-0

Issue

o         Whether an appellant court can discriminate on the basis a defendant not having enough money to buy a transcript?  No.

Procedure

Illinois

o         The Supreme Court of Illinois affirmed the dismissal of their petition because the charges raised no substantial state or federal constitutional questions and the prisoners appealed.

Supreme

o         The court vacated and remanded the order from the state supreme court. The court held that petitioner prisoners had to be afforded as adequate appellate review as defendants with money to buy transcripts

Facts/Cases

Discussion

Key Phrases

Rules/Laws

Pl -   Griffin

Df -   Illinois

Description

o         The prisoners filed a petition under the Illinois Post-Conviction Hearing Act, in order to obtain a certified copy of the entire record for their appeal.

o         The state supreme court affirmed the dismissal of their petition because the charges raised no substantial state or federal constitutional questions.

o         On certiorari, the prisoners contended that the failure to provide them with the needed transcript violated the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of U.S. Const. amend. XIV.

o         The court held that while the state court was not required by the federal constitution to provide appellate courts or a right to appellate review, because the state did grant appellate review at all stages of the proceedings, the Due Process and Equal Protection Clause protected the prisoners from invidious discriminations.

o         The court held that destitute defendants must be afforded as adequate appellate review as defendants who had money enough to buy the transcripts.

o         The court vacated and remanded the state supreme court's order.

The Court held in Griffin that a state must furnish an indigent criminal defendant with a free trial transcript if such a transcript is necessary for "adequate and effective appellate review" of his conviction.

Justice Black, joined by Chief Justice Warren and Justices Douglas and Clark

o         Plurality opinion

Guaranties of due process and equal protection

o         [Our] constitutional guaranties of due process and equal protection both call for procedures in criminal trials which allow no invidious discriminations between persons and different groups of persons.

Paying costs is irrelevant to innocence

o         Plainly the ability to pay costs in advance bears no rational relationship to a defendant's guilt or innocence and could not be used as an excuse to deprive a defendant of a fair trial.

Cannot discriminate when denying appellant review

o         [It] is true that a State is not required by the Federal Constitution to provide appellate courts or a right to appellate review at all.

o         But that is not to say that a State that does grant appellate review can do so in a way that discriminates against some convicted defendants on account of their poverty ....

Most states recognize importance of appellant review

o         "All of the States now provide some method of appeal from criminal convictions, recognizing the importance of appellate review to a correct adjudication of guilt or innocence.

o         Statistics show that a substantial proportion of criminal convictions are reversed by state appellate courts.

Reasoning - may lose their life, liberty or property because of unjust convictions

o         Thus to deny adequate appellate review to the poor means that many of them may lose their life, liberty or property because of unjust convictions which appellate courts would set aside.

o         Many States have recognized this and provided aid for convicted defendants who have a right to appeal and need a transcript but are unable to pay for it.

Summary

o         There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has.

o         Destitute defendants must be afforded as adequate appellate review as defendants who have money enough to buy transcripts."

Rules

Rule

o         Criminals right to transcript cannot be denied on the basis of ability to pay

o         Paying costs is irrelevant to innocence

o         Cannot discriminate on the basis of money when denying appellant review

Class Notes