Reply #15: Ah, because it's better than nothing? [View All]

The Crime Beat: The Right to an Attorney
By Dave Krajicek

Clarence Gideon, 51, an indigent barfly, was arrested June 3, 1961, for a break-in at a pool hall in Bay Harbor, Florida.

His pockets bulged with $25 in coins when he was nabbed. Cops said the money came from jimmied pool hall coin boxes.

Gideon swore he was innocent. He said the coins were winnings from a poker game. Destitute, he asked that a lawyer be appointed to represent him, at taxpayer expense. A judge ruled he was not entitled to free legal advice because the burglary was not a capital offense and Gideon did not qualify as a "special circumstances" suspect; he was neither illiterate, feebleminded nor a juvenile.

Forced to represent himself at trial, Gideon was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.

Behind bars, Gideon read law books and decided the judge had violated his right to "due process of law" under the 14th Amendment to the Constitution.

Gideon used prison stationery and a pencil to ask the Supreme Court to consider his simple complaint: that he had asked for a lawyer and didn't get one.

more, and interesting: http://www.justicejournalism.org/crimeguide/chapter01/sidebars/chap01_xside3.html