Powell Vs Alabama Case. Alabama (1932) is the 58th landmark supreme court case, the seventh in the criminal rights module, featured in the ktb prep american government and civics series designed to acquaint users with the origins, concepts, organizations, and policies of the united states government and political system. 45 opinion of the court.
This case was an early example of national constitutional protection in the field of criminal justice. The case is famous for mandating that, under the sixth amendment, counsel be provided to all defendants charged with a capital felony in state court regardless of that defendant’s ability to pay. In alabama, trial courts were obliged, under state statute, to appoint counsel in capital cases whenever the defendant is incapable of hiring an attorney on his own.