7. Resulting in the freeing of thousands of inmates across the country, Gideon v. Wainwright resolved a defendant by provided legal counsel by the state if they could not afford it themselves
Arrested following a burglary at the Bay Harbor Pool Room in Panama City, Florida, on June 3, 1961, Clarence Earl Gideon was charged with breaking and entering and intent to commit petty larceny. Unable to afford legal counsel, consequently requesting it be provided, upon appearing in court Gideon was informed that under Florida law the state only appoints counsel to represent a person charged with a capital offense. Forced to act as his own counsel, Gideon was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. Appealing to the United States Supreme Court from Florida State Prison, using the penitentiary’s library to inform his writings, Gideon sued the Secretary of the Florida Department of Corrections.
Claiming he had been denied counsel in violation of his Sixth Amendment rights, the Supreme Court, in an indication of their mood on the subject, assigned Gideon one of the finest lawyers in the country, Abe Fortas, to represent him. Issuing a unanimous decision in favor of Gideon, the Supreme Court ruled the assistance of counsel, should it be desired by a defendant, was a fundamental legal right and essential for a fair trial. Freeing approximately two thousand individuals in Florida alone, Gideon was subjected to a fresh trial. Represented by a lawyer the second time around, Gideon was acquitted after just an hour of deliberations by the jury.