Clarence Earl Gideon grew up was a poor homeless drifter. Gideon quit school in the eighth grade and ran away from home. Throughout his life, Gideon always seemed to find himself in trouble. He ended up spending the majority of his life in and out of the Criminal Justice System for various offenses. On August 4, 1961, $5 in change and a few bottles of beer and soda were stolen from the Pool Room, a pool hall/bar that belonged to Ira Strickland, Jr. Strickland also alleged that $50 was taken from the jukebox. Henry Cook, a resident who lived nearby, told the police that he had witnessed Clarence Gideon walk out of the Pool Room with a bottle of wine and his pockets appeared to have been filled with coins. Cook also stated that he saw Gideon get into a cab and leave. Clarence Gideon was arrested and tried. Clarence Gideon was charged with breaking and entering with the intent to commit a misdemeanor, which is a felony under Florida law. At trial, Gideon appeared in court without an attorney. In open court, he asked the judge to appoint counsel for him because he could not afford an attorney. The trial judge denied Gideon’s request because Florida law only permitted appointment of counsel for indigent defendants charged with capital offenses. Because he could not afford an attorney, and one could not be …show more content…
The decision within the Supreme Court was unanimous. Gideon’s case was reversed and remanded. The Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of counsel is a fundamental right essential to a fair trial and, applies the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Betts V Brady was then overturned. Justice Black stated that “reason and reflection require us to recognize that in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person hauled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for