Gideon V Wainwright (1963) Citation of Case:

Gideon v Wainwright (1963)

Citation of Case: 372 U.S. 335 S.Ct. 155 (1963)

Facts:

Gideon was charged in a Florida state court with a non-capital felony for breaking and entering a poolroom. He appeared in the court without funds and was unable to hire a lawyer for his defense. When he requested the court to appoint an attorney for him, the court refused, stating that it was only obligated to appoint counsel to indigent defendants in capital cases. Gideon defended himself in the trial and was convicted by a jury. The court sentenced him to five years in a state prison. Gideon appealed to the State Supreme Court for habeas corpus, on the ground that his conviction violated his rights under the Federal Constitution. The State Supreme Court denied all relief. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Issue:

Did the state court's denial to appoint counsel for Gideon violate his right to a fair trial and due process of law as protected by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments?

Decision of the Court:

The Court, in its unanimous decision delivered by Justice Hugo Black, held that the right of an indigent defendant to have the assistance of counsel in a criminal trial as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment is a fundamental right essential to a fair trial. Case was reversed and cause remanded.

Reasoning of the Court:

The Court considered it an "obvious truth" that a fair trial for a poor defendant could not be guaranteed without the assistance of counsel. It further reasoned that such guarantees (that are part of the Bill of Rights) are fundamental safeguards of liberty, are immune from federal abridgment and equally protected against state invasion by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Therefore, the petitioner's trial and conviction in this case without the assistance of counsel violated the Fourteenth Amendment. While giving its opinion, the Court reconsidered and overruled its 1942 decision of Betts v. Brady that involved a similar case of a defendant having been denied the right of a counsel appointed to assist him during his trial.

Citations to Support Judgment:

Powell v. State of Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, S.Ct. 98-100 (1932)

Grosjean v. American Press Co., 297 U.S. 233, S.Ct. 303 (1936)