gideon vs. wainwright
...d Gideon directed his defense; but his efforts were useless as one could expect from a common man with no legal education or experience. The jury convicted him of the felonious charges and gave Gideon the maximum 5-year sentence. At the time of Gideon's trial in the Florida court the right to legal counsel ensured by the Sixth Amendment was only applicable to federal cases, and states had the right to handle the matter of the appointment of legal counsel to the defense in state cases at their discretion. With the precedent set by the ruling of Brady v. Betts, the denial of the appointment of counsel by the trial court in the Gideon case was issued with just reason. Even though many states and the federal government allowed for the appointment of counsel for impoverished defendants, Florida as well as many other southern states did not. The only instance in which Counsel could be appointed to defendants under Florida law was in capital cases, and thus the reason for the denial of Gideon's request for Counsel. In pursuit of an appeal, Gideon studied law books while serving out his sentence in state prison. Gideon filed a petition for habeas corpus in the Florida Supreme Court. This petition sought to invalidate his conviction and sentence on the basis that the trial court's refusal to appoint counsel denied him of rights enumerated in the Constitution of the United States and the federal government. Upon consideration of the Florida Supreme Court, but without an opinion, Gideon's petition for habeas corpus was denied. Gideon presented his case before the Supreme Court in January 1963. The basis of the argument was that it was unconstitutional for the states to create their own state legislation which decides the circumstances under which the court appoints counsel to the defense, and that his Sixth Amendment right to counsel was violated. Gideon argued that these pieces of state legislation are unlawful on the ground that they abridge the right to have the assistance of counsel for defense that is given by the Sixth Amendment. The Supreme Court's decision was made in March. All nine justices concluded to r...