Gideon v. Wainwright

The 1963 Supreme Court case of Gideon v. Wainwright established the right to an attorney in any court cases. Clarence Gideon was an extremely poor man who was arrested for breaking into a pool hall in Florida. When his case was brought to court, he was unable to provide himself with an attorney, and the court denied his request for a court-appointed attorney because they were only available in the case of a capital crime, something that Gideon was not convicted of. Gideon was sentenced to five years in prison, but from prison, Gideon submitted a hand-written petition that was taken in by the Court. Unanimously, the Court decided in favor of Gideon, overturning the prior case of Betty v. Brady that had set a precedent. The Court ruled that a fair trial is a necessary right as stated in the Constitution, and, therefore, a court-appointed attorney must be provided in cases which the defense cannot provide an attorney for his/her self.

This decision was a monumental one and is a decision that I agree with because the Court did not extend the rights of the Constitution in any strange way; it simply declared that, in order to have a fair trial, the defense must have the means to defend him/her self. This case set a huge precedent in terms of judiciary process and, in my opinion, has made the United States a much more fair place. 

This clip from YouTube provides the background and the surrounding details that would make the case of Gideon v. Wainwright and contains some interesting footage.

While he was in prison, Gideon sent in a handwritten petition, called a in forma pauperis, to the Supreme Court for appeal.