Gideon v. Wainwright

Gideon v. Wainwright
On June 3, 1961, a burglary occurred at the Bay Harbor Pool Room in Panama City, Florida. During the burglary, a window was smashed and the cigarette machine and jukebox had been broken into. A witness claimed to have seen Clarence Earl Gideon in the poolroom early that morning. Later Gideon was picked up nearby with a bottle of wine and some change in his pockets, the police proceeded to arrest him. They charged him with breaking and entering in to the pool room.
Gideon was a drifter who could not afford a lawyer. When he appeared at the Florida Circuit Court for trial, he asked the judge to appoint a layer for him. Gideon argued that the Court should grant him one because the Sixth Amendment says that everyone is en...