He’s The Reason Why You Have A Right To An Attorney
In 1961, Clarence Earl Gideon, a 50-year-old Florida man, was convicted of breaking and entering in a case that changed legal precedent forever.
He challenged his conviction and stated that since he couldn’t afford an attorney, the judge should have appointed him one.
Now, Gideon v. Wainwright is regarded as a landmark Supreme Court case, which established that criminal defendants have a constitutional right to counsel, regardless of whether they can afford an attorney.
At the time, Clarence was unemployed and had a past peppered with both juvenile and adult felonies. He was ultimately convicted of breaking and entering into the Bay Harbor Pool Room located in Panama City.
At about 5:30 a.m. on June 3, 1961, he allegedly smashed a window to enter the pool room and stole multiple bottles of wine, a dozen beer bottles, and a dozen Coca-Cola bottles. He also allegedly took $60 from a jukebox and $5 from a cigarette machine.
A 20-year-old named Henry Cook claimed to have spotted Clarence leaving with the merchandise. This tip is what led the police to arrest him, and Clarence’s trial began on August 4, 1961.
While standing before Judge Robert L. McCrary, prior to the trial beginning, Clarence shared how he wasn’t able to afford legal representation and asked the judge to appoint counsel for him.
This request was denied since Florida law only allowed poor defendants facing capital offenses to be appointed attorneys.
So, Clarence was forced to represent himself. He provided an opening statement, presented defense witnesses, and cross-examined witnesses presented by the prosecution. He did not go on the stand himself.
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Clarence was still found guilty, receiving a five-year prison sentence. Nonetheless, he didn’t give up and proceeded to petition the Florida Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus.
He firmly believed that he had a right to an attorney and challenged his conviction, saying his constitutional rights were violated when the judge refused to appoint him counsel.
This petition was denied by the Florida Supreme Court, so Clarence upped the ante. In the Supreme Court of the United States, he submitted a handwritten petition for a writ of certiorari.
Again, he argued that he was entitled to legal representation under the constitution, and without an attorney, Clarence said he was denied due process, which is a Fourteenth Amendment right.
The Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear Clarence’s case and decide whether the right to an attorney also applied to defendants in state courts. This time, Clarence had the aid of court-appointed lawyers who helped him present his argument.
The team of lawyers was led by Abe Fortas, a Washington attorney who was later appointed to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1965. Abe stated, “The aid of counsel is indispensable to a fair hearing.”
Conversely, Bruce Robert Jacob, the Assistant Attorney General of Florida who represented the respondent, claimed that it should be a state’s right to decide under what circumstances lawyers are appointed for defendants. He also said it would be “a tremendous burden on taxpayers” if states were required to provide counsel to all defendants.
Clarence’s argument prevailed, and the Court ruled that anyone charged with a crime has the right to an attorney, calling it “fundamental.” Due to the decision, Clarence’s conviction was reversed, and he underwent a second trial.
W. Fred Turner was appointed as his defense attorney and undermined the story of the prosecution’s key witness, Henry Cook.
It was determined that Henry couldn’t have watched Clarence leaving with the allegedly stolen merchandising since there were advertising boards in the pool room’s windows, which would’ve hindered his line of sight.
Other discrepancies in Henry’s story, including why he was at the pool room so late and surprise testimony from a neighborhood grocer who spoke with Henry on the day of the crime, resulted in Clarence getting acquitted of all the charges against him.
After he spent nearly two years behind bars, Clarence was released from prison on August 6, 1963. Pulitzer Prize-winning author and journalist Anthony Lewis went on to pen “Gideon’s Trumpet,” which told the story behind the landmark Gideon v. Wainwright court case and was later adapted into a made-for-television movie.
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