DO YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO A COURT APPOINTED ATTORNEY?

If you have been charged with a crime, one of the first questions you might ask is, “Am I entitled to a court appointed attorney?”

While it’s important to seek advice from a lawyer, the law is also clear on the matter, settled by the courts.

THE CASE OF GIDEON V. WAINWRIGHT

Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S .335 (1963) is a landmark US Supreme Court case in which the court ruled that a person may have a court appointed attorney, if he or she cannot afford one. Although, Clarence Earl Gideon was convicted and sentenced to five years for breaking and entering with misdemeanor in the state of Florida. 

This case significance provides the Sixth Amendment's to all persons in that it guarantees the right to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and is applicable to the states by due process clause which prohibits states from denying any person to a fair trial before a judge or jury by the Fourteenth Amendment Due Process Clause.

CRITERIA FOR A COURT-APPOINTED ATTORNEY

The case of Gideon v. Wainwright, made it very clear that, in the cases of felonies or misdemeanors that can result in a conviction the following is true:

“in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.”