www abdopublishing com Published by Abdo Publishing a division of ABDO PO Box 398166 Minneapolis Minnesota 55439 Copyright 2015 by Abdo Consulting Group Inc International copyrights reserved in all countries No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher Core Library is a trademark and logo of Abdo Publishing Printed in the United States of America North Mankato Minnesota 092014 012015 Cover Photo Orhan Cam Shutterstock Images Interior Photos Orhan Cam Shutterstock Images 1 AP Images 4 16 21 Fuse Thinkstock 7 24 Photos com Thinkstock 9 Shutterstock Images 11 32 iStockphoto 12 North Wind Picture Archives 14 Library of Congress 19 39 Bettmann Corbis 22 Red Line Editorial 26 28 Charles V Tines The Detroit News AP Images 30 Pablo Martinez Monsivais AP Images 34 45 Evan Golub Demotix Corbis 40 Editor Lauren Coss Series Designer Becky Daum Library of Congress Control Number 2014944232 Cataloging-in-Publication Data Petersen Christine How the judicial branch works Christine Petersen p cm How the US government works ISBN 978-1-62403-636-1 lib bdg Includes bibliographical references and index 1 Courts United States Juvenile literature 2 Procedure Law United States Juvenile literature 3 Law United States Juvenile literature 4 United States Politics and government Juvenile literature I Title 347 dc23 2014944232
CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE Seeking Justice 4 CHAPTER TWO The Court System Begins 14 CHAPTER THREE On Trial 24 CHAPTER FOUR Court Is in Session 34 Important Dates 42 Stop and Think 44 Glossary 46 Learn More 47 Index 48 About the Author 48
CHAPTER ONE Clarence Gideon’s appeal to the Supreme Court helped change the law so all people accused of crimes were able to have lawyers regardless of their ability to pay for one In 1961 Clarence Gideon stood before a judge in Florida The 51-year-old man had been accused of breaking into a local business and stealing money from its vending machines A witness claimed to have seen Clarence Gideon at the scene of the crime Gideon insisted he was innocent But he could not afford to pay a lawyer He asked that one be provided to him The judge refused Gideon Seeking Justice 5
