Case Digest on Gideon v. Wainwright

Criminal defendants who cannot pay for their own lawyers have the right to be appointed attorneys by the State on their behalf.

Listen to this one-minute digest on Gideon v. Wainright! 🎧📚

FACTS OF THE CASE:

Gideon was arrested and charged with breaking with the intent to commit petty theft based on a burglary at a pool room in Panama City, Florida. The arrest was based entirely on the report of a witness that he had seen Gideon in the pool room on the night of the crime and that Gideon had a wine bottle and money in his pockets.

Gideon could not afford a lawyer and requested the Court to appoint counsel in his defense. Gideon undertook his defense and was convicted. He was sentenced to five years in prison, where he crafted his appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court by using prison writing materials and legal resources.

ISSUE OF THE CASE:

Whether Gideon’s rights to the Fourteenth Amendment had been violated

RULING OF THE CASE:

The Supreme Court through Justice Hugo Black ruled that Gideon's conviction was unconstitutional because Gideon was denied a defense lawyer at trial. The Court established that the 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.

IMPACT TO THE LEGAL SYSTEM:

The case guarantees all indigent defendants the right to legal counsel.