Learn About Gideon
“The right of one charged with a crime to counsel may not be deemed fundamental and essential to a fair trial in some countries but it is in ours.”
Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 US 335, 344 (1963)
Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963) marked a watershed moment in public defense history. It began from the humble request by indigent defendant, Clarence Gideon, for court appointed counsel because he could not afford one. Gideon was denied appointment by a Florida judge and proceeded to represent himself. The jury returned a guilty verdict and he was sentenced to five years of incarceration.
Review an excerpt of Gideon's Pro Se Direct Examination
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Even this short excerpt evinces the critical need for competent counsel. The statements the witness made were tremendously damaging and should have at minimum been subject to timely objections and had Mr. Gideon had access to counsel and a trial strategy this form of defense would likely not have been advanced.
Ultimately, when the case reached the Supreme Court, the Court stated,
“[R]eason and reflection require us to recognize that in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.”
Id. at 353–45.
It was the first time the Supreme Court abandoned the narrow understanding of the right to counsel it had established in cases like Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932) and Betts v. Brady, 316 U.S. 455 (1942) and formally held that, "[t]he right of an indigent defendant in a criminal trial to have the assistance of counsel is a fundamental right essential to a fair trial, and petitioner's trial and conviction without the assistance of counsel violated the Fourteenth Amendment." Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 US 335, 344 (1963).
Listen to an excerpt of Gideon v. Wainwright oral argument here:
Gideon's Army Trailer
Three young, idealistic Public Defenders in the Deep South struggle against long hours, low pay and staggering caseloads to ensure justice is served for America's forgotten poor.
Defending Gideon
An excerpt from Defending Gideon, a documentary film by The Constitution Project and New Media Advocacy Project, was screened at the Department of Justice's 50th Anniversary Gideon Event.