50th Anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright

On March 18, 1963, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that everyone charged with a felony offense had the Constitutional right to a lawyer. No longer would any other criminal defendant face a possible jail sentence without the help of an effective lawyer.

Want to read the original petition filed by Clarence Gideon? Or hear the oral arguments made to the U.S. Supreme Court? Check out those items and more about this landmark case on the ABA Section of Litigation page at http://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/initiatives/death_penalty.html