Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963
Clarence Gideon is arrested in Panama City, FL with the intent to commit burglary. When Gideon had to go to court, he did not have any legal counsel. Gideon requested a lawyer, but the court refused to provide one because lawyers were only given to people who committed capital offences such as murder.
While Gideon was in jail, he requested a habeas corpus which is a written statement that said Gideon was imprison illegally. However, the Supreme Court of the state of Florida refused. Gideon appealed to the United States Supreme Court. The Court agreed to hear Gideon v. Wainwright and Abe Fortas was appointed to represent Gideon during the trial.
On March 18, 1963 in a unanimous decision the United States Supreme Court ruled that in all federal criminal cases, of a person cannot afford a lawyer, he or she must be provided with one.
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