Gideon v. Wainwright | |
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Argued January 15, 1963 Decided March 18, 1963 | |
Full case name | Clarence E. Gideon v. Louie L. Wainwright, Corrections Director. |
Citations | 372 U.S. 335 (more) |
Argument | Oral argument |
Prior history | Gideon convicted, Bay County, Florida Circuit Court (1961); habeas request denied, Gideon v. Cochrane, 135 So. 2d 746 (Fla. 1961) |
Subsequent history | At 2nd trial, Gideon found not guilty, 153 So. 2d 299 (Fla. 1963) |
Holding | |
States must assign free lawyers to poor defendants. The states must follow the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel rule because the Fourteenth Amendment requires due process. | |
Court membership | |
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Case opinions | |
Majority | Black, joined by Warren, Brennan, Stewart, White, Goldberg |
Concurrence | Clark |
Concurrence | Harlan |
Concurrence | Douglas |
Laws applied | |
Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments | |
This case overturned a previous ruling or rulings | |
Betts v. Brady (1942) |
Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), is a landmark case in United States Supreme Court history. The Court decided that if a person is charged with a crime, and they cannot pay for a lawyer, the state has to give them one for free. This case caused the public defender program to be created in the United States. (A public defender is a lawyer who defends clients who cannot pay them.)