Gideon v. Wainwright

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Gideon v. Wainwright
Syllabus

Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), was a landmark case in United States Supreme Court history. In the case, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that state courts are required by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution to provide lawyers in criminal cases for defendants unable to afford their own attorneys.

1878Gideon v. Wainwright — Syllabus
Court Documents
Concurring Opinions
Douglas
Clark
Harlan
Linked case(s):

378 U.S. 478 (1964)

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

372 U.S. 335

Gideon v. Wainwright

CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF FLORIDA

No. 155 Argued: January 15, 1963 --- Decided: March 18, 1963


Charged in a Florida State Court with a noncapital felony, petitioner appeared without funds and without counsel and asked the Court to appoint counsel for him, but this was denied on the ground that the state law permitted appointment of counsel for indigent defendants in capital cases only. Petitioner conducted his own defense about as well as could be expected of a layman, but he was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment. Subsequently, he applied to the State Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus, on the ground that his conviction violated his rights under the Federal Constitution. The State Supreme Court denied all relief.

Held: 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. Betts v. Brady, 316 U.S. 455, overruled. Pp. 336-345.

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).

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