Gideon Vs Wainwright Case Study

Gideon v. Wainwright Clark, 1

Gideon v. Wainwright: The Right to Counsel

Amber Clark

Liberty High School

2A

Gideon v. Wainwright was a Supreme Court case involving Clarence Earl Gideon, a man who received felony charges in the state of Florida for breaking and entering to commit a misdemeanor offense. The importance of this case lies in the Constitutional questions it dealt with, such as a citizen?s right to counsel, and the resulting decision that gave the right to counsel to all, at any court level. Gideon?s case was argued on January 15th, 1963. When he appeared in his state court, he did not have a lawyer due to lack of funds. His request for the state to appoint him one was denied, and he was forced to represent himself. He was found guilty by the court and sentenced to five years in prison. Later he filed a habeas corpus petition, stating that his constitutionally guaranteed rights to be appointed counsel and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment had been violated. This request was also denied. (Chicago-Kent College of Law, 2015)

This posed two main Constitutional questions: Do non-capital felony defendants still get the sixth amendment?s right to counsel in state courts? Should all states have to provide counsel in their courts for indigent defendants just as federal courts do, no matter what type of case it may be? (Street Law, 2012) The case of Gideon v. Wainwright helped bring into light and define the full rights of the accused. Through dealing with the sixth amendment and the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, it focused on the key aspect of appointing counsel for any defendant, and made one way our country handles criminal justice synonymous between state and federal