I read Gideon’s Trumpet when I was 14.

The book tells the story of Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court case which established every defendant’s right to counsel when accused of a felony.

Providing legal counsel in non-criminal cases has been one of my priorities as a legislator, in no small measure because of the case and the book.

Consequently, I did not need to read my testimony today on House Bill 942.

My bill would require that before a person is thrown in jail for not paying the rent, he or she is entitled to a lawyer.

Just like the ruling in Gideon.

“There is a simple but fundamental premise for my bill,” I told the committee. “No one should go to jail for failing to pay the rent.”

The Maryland Judicial Conference opposed my bill because it is “rare for individuals to be detained by commissioners when brought in on a body attachment.”

“Rare is too often,” I told the committee.

I contrasted that opposition with the support of retired Chief Judge Robert Bell, whose written testimony stated, “This process [of body attachment] applies, and is especially invidious with respect, to debts arising from a residential tenancy.”

For good luck, I brought my tattered copy of Gideon’s Trumpet to the hearing.

Anthony Lewis, the author, autographed it: “for Sandy Rosenberg, who writes laws.”