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 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.

Gideon v. Wainwright, case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on March 18, 1963, ruled (9–0) that states are required to provide legal counsel to indigent defendants charged with a felony. The case centred on Clarence Earl Gideon, who had been charged with a felony for allegedly burglarizing a pool hall in Panama City, Florida, in June 1961

Mar 18, 2013 · 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.

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. The Florida Supreme Court denied habeas corpus relief.

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.

Gideon v Wainwright, is a U.S. Supreme Court case in which the Court used the Due Process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to extend the constitutional right to an attorney in federal criminal cases for those who could not afford representation to …

The Court unanimously ruled in Gideon’s favor, stating that the Sixth Amendment requires state courts to provide attorneys for criminal defendants facing felony charges who cannot otherwise afford counsel.

Mr. Gideon was accused of a 1961 burglary at the Bay Harbor Pool Room near Panama City, Florida. Unable to afford a lawyer, Gideon was forced to represent himself in the Bay County Circuit Court. Although he pled not guilty, Gideon lost his …

Clarence Earl GIDEON, Petitioner, v. Louie L. WAINWRIGHT, Director, Division of Corrections. No. 155. Argued Jan. 15, 1963. Decided March 18, 1963.