Gideon v. Wainwright

US Supreme Court decision of 1963 that required states to provide free counsel to any person accused of a felony who was too poor to hire their own. Prior to this case, only those defendants being tried for capital offences were guaranteed counsel.

Clarence Gideon, a Florida man accused of a felony, was forced by poverty to defend himself. He was convicted but appealed his conviction, arguing that his constitutional right to a lawyer had been denied. The court ordered a retrial, ruling that states must provide counsel for felony-case defendants, and Gideon was acquitted.

The decision was one of many under Chief Justice Earl Warren that protected the rights of accused criminals and extended the guarantees of the constitutional amendments to state actions.