Gideon v Wainwright

• [Instructor] Now we're gonna talk about an important Supreme Court case that reinforced the idea that states have to provide the same rights when people are arrested and accused of a crime, as are guaranteed in the United States Constitution.

And that case is Gideon versus Wainwright. So in 1961, you have a gentleman by the name of Clarence Earl Gideon, who's in a pool hall and he's accused of stealing some beer and soda and about $50.

And there's one witness who said that they saw Clarence Gideon walking away with some soda and beer in his pockets and some change in his pockets. Now when he gets arrested and he goes to court, he wants to have access to counsel; he can't afford a lawyer by himself. But Florida, at the time, did not give everyone access to a lawyer.

That was only in capital offenses or in certain other cases. So Clarence Earl Gideon had to defend himself, and he loses the case and he gets the maximum sentence of five years.

Now while he is in prison, he begins to study the law and the Constitution in particular. And he reads things like the Sixth Amendment, which say, "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 witness against him, to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense."

So he's saying, "Hey, this is here in the Constitution. It's the Sixth Amendment saying that I need to have assistance of counsel for my defense."

And he studies section one of the 14th Amendment: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States, nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

Well, he's saying here, "Look, the Sixth Amendment says that I have a right to assistance of counsel, essentially to have a lawyer that the state needs to provide."

And the Constitution makes it very clear that no state can make or enforce a law which abridges my privileges; that they can't deprive me of life, liberty, or property without the due process of law. And part of that due process is to have access to counsel for defense.

And so he petitions first the Florida courts, and they keep rejecting him. But eventually, he writes to the United States Supreme Court. And in 1962, the United States Supreme Court decides to take Clarence Earl Gideon's case.

And not only do they take his case, they provide a lawyer for him. And the lawyer is able to get a nine-zero verdict in Clarence Gideon's favor.

And so that did not acquit him of the crime, but it says that he has a right to counsel. So back in Florida, he gets a retrial.

And in that retrial, he has a lawyer, and that lawyer is able to question that one witness in depth that says that Clarence was walking away with soda and beer and change in his pockets and create a substantial amount of doubt.

And then the jury, after only an hour of deliberation, says, "No, it hasn't been proven that Clarence Gideon is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."

And he is free. So this is an amazing case. One, it's amazing that an individual sitting in jail could learn about the Constitution and petition the US Supreme Court and win that case that ensures that all 50 states have to provide legal counsel for the accused.