The criminal defendant in this case, a man named Gideon, broke into a pool room in Florida with the objective of committing a minor crime. Because Gideon was without any means of financial support, he could not afford an attorney. He asked for but was denied representation by a courtappointed attorney.
Consequently, he represented himself at trial. Ultimately, he was found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison. Gideon later challenged his conviction on the grounds that he had been deprived of his constitutional right to representation by an attorney.
In opposition, Florida argued that, though all fundamental rights guaranteed by the federal government through the Bill of Rights should also be guaranteed by state governments, the right to legal representation was not such a fundamental right.
In fact, the right to a court-appointed attorney arose only when the criminal defendant had been accused of a very serious crime. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case. How should the Supreme Court rule in this case? Is the right to an attorney a fundamental right that should be guaranteed to criminal defendants by the states, regardless of the seriousness of the crime? Explain.
Examine the Constitution and find the Amendment that guarantees the right to representation by an attorney. Examine the Constitution and find the Amendment that extends that right to defendants in state criminal actions.
Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 355