Gideon Vs. Wainwright

Part I of Essay
United States Supreme Court cases are argued and decided on Constitutional grounds. All arguments and decisions are based on interpretations of the original Constitution and, more often, on Constitutional amendments. In June 1961, Clarence Gideon was arrested and charged w ....

Part II of Essay
.... 1963. However, Gideon was wrong. The rule applied by the Supreme Court at that time was in fact exactly the opposite. The Constitution, it had held, did not guarantee free counsel to all felony defendants that are unable to retain their own. Since1942, when Betts v. Brady was decided by a divided Court, the problem of defendant’s federal constitutional right to counsel in a state court has been a continuing source of controversy and litigation in both state and federal courts. Since Gideon was proceeding without funds, it gave the Justi ....