Gideon+v.+Wainwright

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 * =Background =
 * =Gideon was charged in a Florida state court with a felony for breaking and entering. He lacked funds and was unable to hire a lawyer to prepare his defense. When he requested the court to appoint an attorney for him, the court refused, and then sentenced him to 5 years in prison =
 * =Facts of the Case =
 * =Gideon was charged in a Florida state court with a felony for breaking and entering in Panama City, Florida, pool hall and stealing money from the hall's vending machines. He lacked funds and was unable to hire a lawyer to prepare his defense. When he requested the court to appoint an attorney for him, the court refused, starting that it was only obligated to appoint counsel to indigent defendants in capital cases. Gideon then defended himself in the trial; he was convicted by a jury and sentenced him to five years in a state prison. Gideon then filed a habeas corpus petition to the Florida Supreme Court, claiming that his conviction was unconstitutional. Case was denied by the Florida Supreme Court, but accepted by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1963. =
 * =People Involved =
 * =Clarence Earl Gideon- Defendant =
 * =State of Florida- Prosecutor =
 * =Lower Court Decisions =
 * =Charged him with 5 years in prison =
 * =Other Court Decisions =
 * =Florida Supreme Court wouldn’t take his case =
 * =The U.S. Supreme Court declared ruling of State Court Unconstitutional. =
 * =Results of the Decisions =
 * =Ruling of State Court was Unconstitutional =
 * =The 6th amendment requires that the criminally accused have the right to a lawyer. =

<span style="font-family: 'Courier New',Courier,monospace;">By: Todd Davis
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