Gideon v. Wainwright

After Clarence Gideon was arrested for breaking into a Florida pool hall he was denied his request for a court-appointed attorney. At that point the general consensus was that the 14th Amendment did not require the application of the Sixth Amendment's guarantee of counsel in criminal cases to state trials. However, the Supreme Court ruled in Gideon's favor, creating the law that the court must appoint an attorney if the defendant so chooses.

I completely agree with the court on this decision. If a person is too poor to afford a lawyer, he is incredibly disadvantaged in a trial and will likely lose even if he is innocent. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to a fair and speedy trial. A trial cannot truly be fair if the accused cannot afford to be represented in court. As Justice Hugo Black wrote, even an innocent person with a strong defense "lacks both skill and knowledge adequately to prepare his defense, even though he may have a perfect one. He requires the guiding hand of counsel at every step in the proceedings against him.