Florida argument came from an earlier case, Betty v Brady, which said that right to counsel provided by the Fourteenth Amendment does not compel states to provide counsel to any defendant. Also, Gideon did not commit a capital offense.
(the 14th amendment transfers the laws in the Bill of Rights to the states)
Gideon v Wainwright
In Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court ruled that if a defendant cannot afford a lawyer, one must be provided to him or her regardless of the defendant's ability to pay or the importance of the charges.
Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 US 335 (1963)The case was originally called Gideon v. Cochran, but Louie L. Wainwright succeeded Cochran as Secretary to the Florida Department of Corrections before the case was heard in the US Supreme Court.
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
The Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 US 335 (1963) ensured indigent criminal defendants had access to a court-appoint attorney.
The right to a lawyer.
Gideon was the man denied the aid of an attorney at his trial, He sued, seeking the right to be provided with an attorney. The Supreme Court decided in his favor. Gideon won, Wainwright lost.
The outcome of Gideon v. Wainwright was a unanimous Supreme Court vote. They voted in favor of upholding the Sixth Amendment in state courts that they must provide counsel for those in criminal trials that cannot get their own lawyers.
Gideon v. Wainwright
John Marshall was the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (1801-1835); he didn't play a role in Gideon v. Wainwright,(1963), because he had been dead approximately 128 years by the time the case reached the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953-1969) presided over Gideon.
Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 US 335 (1963)Clarence Earl Gideon, a habitual petty criminal, was the petitioner/plaintiff; Louie L. Wainwright, Secretary to the Florida Department of Corrections, was the respondent/defendant. Wainwright's predecessor, H. G. Cochran, Jr., was the original respondent, but vacated office before the case reached the US Supreme Court.For more information, see Related Questions, below.
Those who cannot hire a lawyer shall have counsel provided for them.