Florida denied Gideon counsel because until Gideon changed that in 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in Betts v Brady,(1942) that the right to counsel was only for capital crimes, such as murder or rape. Therefore, when Gideon asked for counsel the judge replied no due to the fact that it wasn't an option at the time.
Gideon was represented by a local attorney, Fred W. Turner, at his second trial, State of Florida v. Clarence Earl Gideon. He was acquitted after a brief jury deliberation.
Clarence Earl Gideon was born on 1910-08-30.
Gideon was acquitted at his second trial.In Gideon v Wainwright, 372 US 335 (1963), the US Supreme Court vacated the judgment in Clarence Earl Gideon's original trial and remanded he case for a new trial. Gideon was represented by attorney W. Fred Turner at his second trial, State of Florida v. Clarence Earl Gideon, and was acquitted after a brief jury deliberation.
That was Henry Fonda.
Clarence Earl Gideon and right to an attorney
Clarence Earl Gideon was born 1910, and was 52 years old when the US Supreme Court released its decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 US 355 (1963). He turned 53 years old in August of that year.
no never even tried
In Gideon v. Wainwright, the original jurisdiction was held by the Florida Supreme Court. The case arose when Clarence Earl Gideon was charged with a felony in a Florida state court and requested a court-appointed attorney, which was denied based on state law at the time. Gideon appealed his conviction to the Florida Supreme Court, which upheld the lower court's decision, leading him to ultimately seek relief from the U.S. Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court later ruled that the right to counsel is a fundamental right applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.
In the case of Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), the Supreme Court addressed the issue of whether the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of the right to counsel applies to state courts. Clarence Earl Gideon was charged with a felony in a Florida state court and was denied a court-appointed attorney because state law only provided for this in capital cases. Gideon represented himself at trial and was convicted. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the right to counsel is a fundamental right essential to a fair trial, thus requiring states to provide attorneys for defendants who cannot afford one.
In Gideon's first trial, State of Florida v. Clarence Earl Gideon, he was forced to defend himself (pro se) because the Supreme Court ruled in Betts v. Brady, (1942) that the states didn't have to provide court-appointed counsel to indigent criminal defendants. The Supreme Court overturned this decision in Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 US 335 (1963).Gideon's attorney in the Supreme Court case was future justice Abe Fortas; his attorney at his second trial was Fred W. Turner.
Earl Clarence Kelley has written: 'Education for what is real'
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.