In Gideon's robbery, he wrote five pages to the Supreme Court.

196 1 year, a 5 1 year-old tramp was arrested by the police in Panama City, Florida, USA. His name is Clarence Gideon. The police suspect that he broke into a billiard hall, stole more than a dozen bottles of canned drinks, beer and wine from the bar of the billiard hall, and stole $65 coins from the vending machine. 1961June, the Florida District Court held a hearing on Gideon's case. Before the trial, the presiding judge Robert L. McCrary Jr. asked the defendant if he was ready to appear in court. Gideon said that I had no money to hire a lawyer, so I was unprepared and asked the judge to provide him with a free lawyer. Judge McClarey replied: According to Florida's criminal procedure law, state courts only provide lawyers for those accused of capital crimes. At present, the prosecution can only sentence you to five years in prison, so the court can't provide you with a free lawyer. The prosecution is headed by assistant prosecutor William? William Harris. The main evidence submitted by prosecutor Harris to the court is the testimony of witnesses on the spot. The witness's name is Henry Cook. He testified that the window of the billiard hall had been smashed at 5: 30 in the morning of the crime, and he saw Gideon in the billiard hall through the window. Gideon came out with a bottle of wine in his hand; Later, Gideon made a phone call to a nearby telephone booth, and a taxi came to pick him up soon. Because Gideon was unable to pay bail, he was held until the trial, unable to investigate and collect evidence, and unable to ask a lawyer or a private detective to investigate. Although witnesses can be questioned in court, Gideon knows nothing about the techniques of cross-examination. After asking for a long time, he didn't get to the point. Gideon was very helpless under the sharp accusation of Harris, a prosecutor with a doctorate in law. He was finally found guilty and sentenced to five years in prison. After the verdict was made, Gideon didn't know how to appeal, so that the verdict quickly took effect and he was put in prison. While serving his sentence in the state prison, Gideon used the prison library to study law by himself and wrote a complaint to the Supreme Court Justice. Gideon said in the complaint: I can't afford a lawyer to defend me, because I can't afford high lawyer fees; Because I have no good education and know nothing about the law, I can't face an experienced prosecutor myself. Therefore, I ask the court to appoint a free lawyer for me, so that I can be defended by a professional lawyer like those who can afford it. The judge didn't do this, so I didn't get the same legal protection as others. This violates my rights under the first paragraph of the Sixth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment. Therefore, my trial was unfair and my judgment was wrong.

Gideon said that the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution reads: "In all criminal cases, the defendant shall have the right to make the following demands: a prompt and public trial shall be conducted by an impartial jury in the state and district where the crime occurred, and the district to which it belongs shall be determined by law; Asking to know the charging items and reasons; Asking to confront the plaintiff's witness; Requiring that witnesses in favor of the defendant be compelled to testify in court by compulsory means; And asked for the assistance of a lawyer. " The first paragraph of the Fourteenth Amendment reads: "Anyone born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction is a citizen of the United States and the state in which he lives. No state shall enact or enforce any law that deprives citizens of the United States of privileges or immunities. No country can deprive anyone of life, freedom or property without due process of law; No one under its jurisdiction shall be deprived of equal legal protection. " After receiving Gideon's petition, the Supreme Court quickly filed a case, which was called "Gideon v. Huai Neureiter" (Huai Neureiter was the warden of the Florida prison where Gideon served his sentence). Chief Justice Warren appointed Fortas as Gideon's free lawyer. Lawyer Fortas, a famous barrister, once served as the Deputy Minister of the Interior, and was appointed as the Justice of the Federal Supreme Court shortly after this case.

1963 1 month, the case was formally opened in the federal supreme court. Lawyer Fortas believes that in the criminal trial procedure in the United States, because of the extremely complicated legal procedure, lawyers are an important factor in a fair trial. The contrast between the poor who can't afford a lawyer and the rich who can afford the best legal services is too great. The right of lawyers stipulated in the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution has now become a legal privilege that only the rich can enjoy, which obviously violates the provisions of the 14 Amendment to the Constitution on equal legal protection of citizens. He further emphasized that the lawyer's rights stipulated in the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution should be part of the "due process of law" in the 14 amendment, and the lawyer's rights of state citizens should be included in the protection scope of the federal government, and should not be decided by the state governments themselves.

1963, 18 In March, nine justices unanimously ruled that the right of lawyers belongs to the most basic content of a fair trial and should be included in the protection of "due process of law" in the 14 constitutional amendment. The judgment pointed out that "in our adversarial criminal trial system, any defendant who is unable to hire a lawyer because of poverty will not get a fair trial unless the court appoints a lawyer for him". Therefore, the judgment of the state district court was revoked and ordered to be retried.

After the ruling of the Federal Supreme Court was issued, the Florida District Court reopened the case and gave Gideon a free name, Fred? Fred Turner's defense attorney. After the trial, after studying, the jury acquitted Gideon of all charges, and Gideon was released on the spot.