Gideon V. Wainwright Case

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Imagine being forced to defend yourself in court, could you do it successfully? Not

everyone can. Clarence Earl Gideon was born on August 30, 1910, to Charles R. and Virginia

Gregory Gideon in Hannibal, Missouri. Growing up he had a rough childhood and a broken

family. All of this turned him to a life of crime. He had very little money, leading him to do

things he most likely regretted. His jury and court decided to charge him with five years in

prison. He did not have an attorney present with him during the trial. Why? He could not afford

one and the court feeling less than generous did not provide one for him. Having to defend

himself in court landed him in prison yet again. In the case of Gideon v. Wainwright on an

evening in 1961 someone
For example,

thanks to Ernesto Miranda everyone has the Miranda Rights, meaning we have our rights read to

us when we are being arrested so we do not incriminate ourselves.

To overall summarize the Gideon v. Wainwright case, Clarence Earl Gideon was accused

and found guilty of breaking and entering a pool hall and stealing a small amount of money from

vending machines. He was found guilty and was convicted with five years in prison. He sent a

petition saying he was unconstitutionally tried because he was not able to afford an attorney and

one was not provided for him. The Supreme Court of Florida denied his petition so he sent one to

the Supreme Court of the United States and they agreed to review his trial. Gideon one his case

and was released of his sentence when they ruled in his favor using the Sixth Amendment, the

right to a fair trial. Gideon should have been given a defense attorney whether he could have

afforded one or not. The court made the right decision by ruling Gideon’s case an unfair trial,

using the fact that everyone is entitled to having an defense attorney

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