This year a handwritten letter from a Florida prisoner named Clarence Earl Gideon brought about a ruling that changed judicial procedures in several states and caused countless new trials in Florida.

the case of Clarence Earl Gideon, who wanted the Supreme Court to hear his case. Gideon was tried in the State of Florida, without counsel, convicted of breaking into a poo room to commit petty ...

Wainwright, which established the right to a court-appointed lawyer for indigent criminal defendants, doesn't even bother to ...