Gideon Writes to the Supreme Court
Feeling he had been denied his constitutional rights to counsel, Gideon wrote a petition to the Florida Supreme Court in October 1961. The barely legible, error-ridden appeal (filed in forma pauperis) was quickly turned down. Still confident he deserved counsel, Gideon turned to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking for a writ of certiorari. This time, the Court agreed to hear his case.
Petitioner alleges that prior to petitioners [sic] convictions and sentence for Breaking and Entering with the intent to commit petty Larceny, he had requested aid of counsel, that, at the time of his conviction and sentence, petitioner was without aid of counsel. That the Court refused and did not appoint counsel, and that he was incapable adequately of making his own defense. [sic] In consequence of which was made to stand trial. . . . William V. Kaiser vs. State of Missouri 65 CT. 363 Counsel must be assigned to the accused if he is unable to employ one, and is incapable adequately of making his own defense |
"Mr. Gideon, I am sorry, but I cannot appoint counsel to represent you in this case." -Judge Robert McCrary [1] "a formal device to bring a case up to the Supreme Court from a lower court" -Anthony Lewis [3] Previous cases relating to the right to counsel1932: Powell v. Alabama
1932: Powell v. Alabama
"The Supreme Court first recognized a constitutional right to appointed counsel in state criminal prosecutions in 1932, holding . . . that defendants facing capital punishment must receive appointed counsel." [5] 1938: Johnson v. Zerbst
1938: Johnson v. Zerbst
"In 1938 the Court held . . . that court-appointed counsel was constitutionally required in all federal prosecutions." [5] 1942: Betts v. Brady
1942: Betts v. Brady
"The Court declined to recognize a categorical right to appointed counsel in every state felony prosecution under the 14th Amendment. Instead it imposed a case-by-case approach that required judges to appoint counsel only under special circumstances." [5] |
- 1. State v. Gideon (1961), in National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, "Gideon 50th Anniversary," Foundation for Criminal Justice, last modified July 27, 2012, accessed January 18, 2014.
- 2. Anthony Lewis, Gideon's Trumpet (New York: Vintage Books, 1966), 4.
- 3. Ibid., 7.
- 4. Clarence Earl Gideon to U.S. Supreme Court, "Petition for a Writ of Certiorari," January 5, 1962, 597554, National Archives, Washington, D.C.
- 5. Ahilan Arulanantham and Lucas Guttentag, "Extending the Promise of Gideon: Immigration, Deportation, and the Right to Counsel," Human Rights 39, no. 4 (April 2013).