Criminal Trial

The landmark Gideon v. Wainwright case established that all citizens accused of a crime have the right to a lawyer, yet Gideon’s Law has made little change in the lives of some to whom a fair trial seems unattainable.

The disgraced former Politburo member Bo Xilai is due to stand trial sometime soon, although his trial has been delayed for some time. The delay bespeaks of the problems that trying Bo poses for the Chinese Communist Party, which risks condemning itself before the Chinese people.