Gideon v. Wainwright 1
Kimberly Scardina
Week 1-Case Brief
CJ261-WCO-V2D1- Dawn McClanahan, M.A., J.D.
May 27, 2011
Gideon v. Wainwright 2
Gideon v. Wainwright , 372 U.S. 335 (1963)
Facts: Gideon was charged in a Florida state court with a felony charge of breaking and entering. Gideon
requested an attorney at the time of trial and was denied. Gideon represented himself in a jury trial and
was found guilty, sentenced to five years in Florida prison.
History: At the present time attorneys were only being pointed at the federal level, still arguing the
validity of state court requests for council. Gideon appealed to the Florida Supreme Court based on
violation of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel, based on the trial court’s decision to deny him an
attorney, the appeal was denied. Additional Gideon appealed to the US Supreme court for violation of
his Fourteenth amendment with the Florida Supreme court denying his appeal as well as the original
violation of his Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
Issue: That Gideon was denied council when he could not afford one. The Sixth Amendment states”
finding counsel must be provided to indigent defendants in all felony cases, whether capital or
otherwise.”
Decision: In a unanimous decision The US Supreme court ruled that states court are required to provide
counsel to defendants in criminal cases that cannot afford to hire their own attorney, based on the Sixth
Amendment to the Constitution.
Rationale: Betts v Bradley previously ruled that the right to counsel per the Sixth Amendment was only
applicable to federal courts. The opinions in Gideon v Wainwright extended the right to be appointed an
attorney by the court per your Sixth amendment to all felony cases. To ensure a fair trial for a defendant
the Sixth Amendment entitles you to access to a defense council, regardless of affordability.
Gideon v. Wainwright 3
Notes: I completely agree with this case and the finding. However, I do think the Criminal justice system
needs an overhaul of its public defender division. It has been established decades ago that everyone
should have the right o adequate representation. It is impossible for our public defenders to adequately
represent indigent clients with the extreme amount of cases and no budget for necessities such as
expert witness, forensics and special defense attorneys equipped to handle capital cases. I strongly
believe that because of these situation clients Fourteenth Amendment is being violate, the right to due
process is being violated due to lack of funding.