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Gideon v. Wainwright, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states must provide legal counsel to indigent defendants charged with a felony.
Federal judges and public defense attorneys discuss the significance of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel and the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963).
Gideon represented himself in trial. He was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison. Gideon filed a habeas corpus petition in the Florida Supreme Court, arguing that the trial court's decision violated his constitutional right to be represented by counsel.
Significance: Gideon v. Wainwright is a landmark case that identified the Sixth Amendment right to counsel as a fundamental right that is incorporated to the states through the 14th Amendment.
Gideon v. Wainwright: In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court established that the Fourteenth Amendment creates a right for criminal defendants who cannot pay for their own lawyers to have the state appoint attorneys on their behalf.
While in prison, Gideon became a “jailhouse” lawyer—studying the Constitution, building his case, and eventually petitioning the Supreme Court to take it up. The Court took Gideon’s case and ruled in his favor—concluding that he did have a right to an attorney.
The Significance of Gideon v. Wainwright. Unlike many of the Supreme Court's momentous decisions, Gideon v. Wainwright was not particularly controversial. Twenty-two states supported Gideon's argument, filing briefs with the Supreme Court arguing that all states should appoint counsel to indigent defendants accused of felonies. After Gideon v.
Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires U.S. states to provide attorneys to criminal defendants who are unable to afford their own.
Learn about the Gideon v. Wainwright Supreme Court decision that stated that anyone in a criminal court had the right to an attorney.
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) Landmark unanimous ruling that states are required under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution to provide an attorney to defendants in criminal cases who are unable to afford their own.