Hamilton v. Alabama (1961)

Hamilton v. Alabama, 368 U.S. 52 (1961), was a case heard by the Supreme Court of the United States. Hamilton was charged in an Alabama court with breaking and entering a dwelling at night with intent to ravish, and had pleaded not guilty. He had then been convicted and sentenced to death. The Court ruled unanimously that the absence of counsel at the time of his arraignment violated Hamilton's due process rights under the Fourteenth Amendment.

Hamilton v. Alabama
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued October 17, 1961 Decided November 13, 1961
Full case name	Hamilton v. Alabama
Citations	368 U.S. 52 (more) 82 S. Ct. 157; 7 L. Ed. 2d 114; 1961 U.S. LEXIS 167
Case history
Prior	Ex parte Hamilton, 271 Ala. 88, 122 So. 2d 602 (1960), cert. granted, 364 U.S. 931 (1961).
Holding
Absence of counsel for petitioner at the time of his arraignment violated his rights under the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
Court membership
Chief Justice Earl Warren Associate Justices Hugo Black · Felix Frankfurter William O. Douglas · Tom C. Clark John M. Harlan II · William J. Brennan Jr. Charles E. Whittaker · Potter Stewart
Case opinion
Majority	Douglas, joined by unanimous
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. XIV