Definition: Gideon  v. Wainwright

Generally speaking, Earl Warren’s Court gave more rights to the accused. You should know:

Gideon v. Wainwright, 1963 - Clarence Gideon was accused of breaking into a billiards establishment in Florida. At his trial, he was denied the right to an attorney because Florida would only appoint lawyers for capital (murder) offenses. He was found guilty. The Warren Court later ruled that Gideon’s rights were violated.  His Sixth Amendment rights to a fair trial should have applied to the state of Florida because of the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause. He was retried and acquitted (found not guilty). Another case, Escobedo v. Illinois, involved a similar issue. 

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