Landmark Supreme Court Case · Rights of the accused
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
- Decided
- 1963
- Vote
- 9–0
- Opinion
- Justice Hugo Black
- Constitutional provisions
Facts of the case
In 1961, Clarence Earl Gideon was charged in Panama City, Florida, with breaking into a pool hall, a felony. He could not afford a lawyer and asked the court to appoint one. Under Florida law, counsel was provided only in capital cases, so the judge refused. Gideon defended himself, was convicted, and was sentenced to five years. From prison, he sent the Supreme Court a handwritten petition.
The constitutional question
Does the Sixth Amendment right to counsel require states to provide lawyers to defendants in felony cases who cannot afford one?
The decision
Yes. The right to counsel is a fundamental right essential to a fair trial, and it applies to the states through the 14th Amendment. The decision overruled Betts v. Brady (1942).
The Court's reasoning
In an adversary system, a poor person hauled into court cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided. Governments hire lawyers to prosecute, and defendants with money hire lawyers to defend.
Why it matters
States created or expanded public defender systems. At his retrial, Gideon had a lawyer and was acquitted. Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972) later extended the right to any case that results in jail time.
In the Court's words
lawyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries.
Justice Hugo Black, majority opinion