Gideon v. Wainwright 1963
| Author | Daniel Brannen, Richard Hanes, Elizabeth Shaw |
| Pages | 314-318 |
Page 314
Petitioner: Clarence Earl Gideon
Respondent: Louie L. Wainwright
Petitioner's Claim: The Sixth Amendment right to legal counsel for defendants unable to afford an attorney should apply equally to the states.
Chief Lawyer for Petitioner: Abe Fortas
Chief Lawyer for Respondents: Bruce R. Jacob
Justices for the Court: Hugo Lafayette Black, William J. Brennan, Jr., Tom C. Clark, William O. Douglas, Arthur Goldberg, John Marshall Harlan II, Earl Warren, Byron R. White.
Justices Dissenting: None
Date of Decision: March 18, 1963
Decision: The Sixth Amendment applies to the states and they are required to provide defendants charged with serious crimes and unable to afford an attorney with legal counsel.
Significance: In taking his case to the United States Supreme Court, Clarence Gideon brought about an historic change in the way American criminal trials are conducted. Before this case, state courts only appointed attorneys for capital cases (cases with the possibility of the death penalty). Now all defendants charged with felony crimes (cases with the possibility of one year or more in prison) that cannot afford to pay for an attorney are entitled to court-appointed legal representation.
Page 315
Clarence Earl Gideon petitioned the Supreme Court himself to urge them to consider his case.
At eight o'clock on the morning of June 3, 1961, a police officer in Panama City, Florida, noticed that the door of the Bay Harbor Poolroom was open. Stepping inside, he saw that someone had burglarized the pool hall, breaking into a cigarette machine and jukebox. The evidence gathered by police led to the arrest of Clarence Gideon, a fifty-one-year-old drifter who sometimes worked at the poolroom. Gideon declared that he was innocent. Nonetheless, two months later he faced trial in the Panama City courthouse. No one present had any idea that they were about to witness history in the making.
Page 316
Clarence Earl Gideon, in court without money and without a lawyer, asked the judge to appoint an attorney. Judge Robert L. McCrary, Jr. denied his request as under Florida law, he could only appoint counsel in a capital case. Gideon argued that the United States Supreme Court said he had a right to counsel.
The judge was correct. At that time, Florida law did not allow for a...
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