States' Opinions

Thirteen states did not have public defender systems at all, and most that did only provided minimal representation. As explained in Defending Gideon, "Bruce Jacob requested the other forty-nine attorneys general to write amicus briefs supporting Florida's position." [1] 24 states wrote briefs, but surprisingly only two supported Florida; the rest sided with Gideon.

Source: Defending Gideon. [3]

amicus curiae

"a bystander who, without having interest in the cause, of his own knowledge makes a suggestion on a point of law or of fact for the information of the presiding judge"

-Samuel Krislov [2]

This was new. This usually didn't happen. States would just duck on issues like that; in this case, twenty-two states said, "No, this should be changed."
-Walter Mondale, Attorney-General of the State of Minnesota [4]

Original map and chart. [5]

Bibliography

1. Defending Gideon, directed by Rebecca Richman Cohen, New Media Advocacy Project, 2013.
2. Samuel Krislov, "The Amicus Curiae Brief: From Friendship to Advocacy," Yale Law Journal 72, no. 4 (March 1963): 694.
3. Defending Gideon.
4. Ibid.
5. Nathan Morse, "States' Opinions of Gideon v. Wainwright," map, 2014; data from Defending Gideon.