In the case of Triplett v. Iowa (1957), the U.S Supreme Court dealt with a dispute over an individual's right to counsel during criminal proceedings. The appellant, Triplett, was convicted for breaking and entering in Iowa state court without having legal representation present at his trial. He argued that this violated his Sixth Amendment rights under the United States Constitution which guarantees every citizen accused of a crime has the right to have assistance from counsel for their defense. The Supreme Court ruled against Triplett stating that he had not properly raised this issue at trial or on appeal in state courts before bringing it up to federal court. Therefore, they held that they could not consider his claim as it was procedurally defaulted - meaning he failed to follow proper procedure when raising this issue initially. This decision underscored two important principles: firstly, defendants must assert their constitutional rights timely and correctly within lower courts before appealing federally; secondly, while there is indeed a constitutional guarantee for legal representation during trials under certain circumstances according to Gideon v Wainwright (1963), such protections were not retroactively applicable here since Gideon came after Triplett’s conviction.

In the dissenting opinion for Triplett v. Iowa, the justice argued that there was no violation of due process in this case. The defendant had been given a fair trial and his rights were not infringed upon by being tried under an indictment which charged him with breaking and entering with intent to commit larceny, even though he was ultimately convicted of simple larceny. The justice emphasized that it is common practice for courts to convict defendants on lesser charges than those they are initially indicted on if the evidence supports such a conviction. Furthermore, he pointed out that the defendant did not object at any point during his trial about being tried under these circumstances or claim prejudice as a result thereof until after his conviction - suggesting that this argument may be more strategic than genuine.