Gideon v. Wainwright to Counsel

Similar to the Fifth Amendment and Miranda v. Arizona, there is really only one case to discuss when we consider the Sixth Amendment. It is one of the hallmark cases of American history, and it pertains to the right to counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment – Gideon v. Wainwright.

For some background, here is the text of the Sixth Amendment:

“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.”

Bolded are the two key clauses of this amendment that have appeared most frequently in court proceedings over the years: the right to a speedy and public trial and the right to counsel. In the Gideon case, the latter clause was the deciding factor.

In 1963, Clarence Gideon, a drifter with a history of minor crimes, was charged with breaking and entering into a pool hall, a felony in Florida. Gideon requested a lawyer in his initial trial but was denied one because, according to the presiding judge, Florida only provides lawyers to indigent defendants who could face the death penalty in the case. He did the best he could to defend himself, but only so much can be expected of a man with an 8^th grade level education.

Image Courtesy of PBS

As might have been expected, Gideon was sentenced to 5 years in prison, and he appealed his case to the Florida Supreme Court, who denied his petition to have his case heard. He then appealed all the way to the US Supreme Court, claiming that his right to counsel as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment was infringed upon.

The Supreme Court was unequivocally unwavering in its decision: 9-0 in favor of Gideon. The court found that all defendants are guaranteed the right to counsel, overturning the general opinion that this only held in cases on capital offenses. Instead, Hugo Black wrote in his decision that states must provide an attorney to all defendants charged with a felony.

In Black’s opinion, he noted that the “government hires lawyers to prosecute and defendants who have the money hire lawyers to defend are the strongest indications of the widespread belief that lawyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries.” In order for the trial to be fair, as is the crux of the Sixth Amendment, each party must have representation.

After this ruling, Gideon was retried, this time with an attorney, and he was found not guilty and acquitted of all charges. In the increasingly “adversarial” legal system, according to Black, the use of lawyers is the only way to guarantee a fair and effective trial. This principle cannot be proved more definitively than the overturning of Gideon’s case once he was provided with adequate counsel.