Gideon v Wainwright is a 1963 decision of the United States Supreme Court that guaranteed the right to court-appointed counsel for indigent criminal defendants. Clarence Gideon was charged with a felony in Florida and denied a lawyer because Florida law provided appointed counsel only in capital cases, so he defended himself at trial and was convicted, later filing a hand-written petition to the Supreme Court from prison. The Court held unanimously that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel in criminal prosecutions is a fundamental right applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, meaning states must provide free counsel to felony defendants who cannot afford a lawyer. The decision reshaped American criminal procedure and led directly to the modern system of public defenders.
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Decision Year Decision Date HoldingGideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires U.S. states to provide attorneys to criminal defendants who are unable to afford their own. 2 Case Status
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Source Gideon v Wainwright (Wikipedia)
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1. Wikidata: Gideon v Wainwright
Source: right-to-counsel holding extended and still binding, no indication of overrulingView the Source 2. Gideon v Wainwright (Wikipedia)
WikipediaWikipedia infobox, Decided field
Decided March 18, 1963
Wikipedia infobox, Decided field (year)
Decided March 18, 1963
Wikipedia lead paragraph, first sentence
Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires U.S. states to provide attorneys to criminal defendants who are unable to afford their own.
Authored By: Hugo Black, Article text
For the Court, Justice Black wrote
In Group: Right to Counsel and Necessity Cases, Introduction, sentence 1
Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires U.S. states to provide attorneys to criminal defendants who are unable to afford their own.
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