C. Clearence Gideon was convicted of a felony in Florida after being refused a lawyer.
- Clarence Gideon, who was a poor indigent and, therefore, could not afford a lawyer, was accused of robbery. The problem came when he requested the court, during his trial in Florida in 1961, to provide a lawyer for him, but the court refused to do it, since it only provided lawyers for defendants accused of more serious crimes such as murder. As a consequence, Gideon was sent to jail.
- It is important to mention that, <u>in 1961, the Sixth Amendment’s right to legal counsel did not applied to the states:</u> it only did so to the federal government.
- When in prison, Gideon found out and was convinced that the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause (<u>which are laws of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments that limit the power of the government to deny people “life, liberty, or property” without fully respecting their legal rights and the correct legal procedure)</u> incorporated the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel to the states. Finally, when Gideon tells the U.S. Supreme Court about this conviction, his case was taken in 1963 and a renowned lawyer was appointed by the Court to defend him.
- In sum, the case Gideon vs. Wainwright was of crucial importance because it guaranteed the right to an attorney for poor or indigent people.
- Moreover, it can be said options A, B and D are not accurate.
