Which U.S. Supreme Court case ruled that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel applies to state courts?

Gideon v. Wainwright ruled that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel applies to state courts and requires appointed lawyers for indigent defendants facing serious criminal charges.

In 1961, Clarence Earl Gideon was charged with breaking into a Florida poolroom. Unable to afford a lawyer, he asked the trial judge to appoint one, but Florida law then allowed counsel only in capital cases. Gideon represented himself, was convicted, and petitioned the Supreme Court from prison in handwritten papers.

The Court ruled unanimously in 1963 that legal assistance is fundamental to a fair trial. Through the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, the Sixth Amendment guarantee binds the states. The decision overturned Betts v. Brady, which had allowed appointment of counsel only in special circumstances.

The ruling does not mean every legal proceeding automatically receives a free lawyer. Its core rule concerns indigent defendants in criminal prosecutions, and later cases addressed issues such as appeals, waiver, and representation during police questioning. Miranda v. Arizona is related but concerns custodial interrogation, not the basic appointment of trial counsel.