# Gideon v. Wainwright *1963 U.S. Supreme Court decision holding that an indigent defendant's right to counsel binds the states; Minnesota Attorney General Walter Mondale signed a twenty-two-state amicus brief urging the result.* **Gideon v. Wainwright**, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), No. 155, is a decision of the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] on certiorari to the Supreme Court of Florida. It was argued January 15, 1963, and decided March 18, 1963.[^1] The Court held that an indigent criminal defendant's right to a lawyer's assistance is a fundamental right essential to a fair trial. It held that trying and convicting the petitioner without counsel violated the Fourteenth Amendment, overruled *Betts v. Brady*, 316 U.S. 455, and reversed and remanded.[^1] Justice [[Hugo Black]] delivered the opinion of the Court.[^2] The project's Time Table records the decision as 9–0.[^3] The U.S. Reports list a brief for the governments of twenty-two States and Commonwealths, filed as amici curiae urging reversal. [[Walter Mondale]], Attorney General of Minnesota, appears second among its twenty-two signatories, after Edward J. McCormack, Jr., Attorney General of Massachusetts.[^4] The opinion records that the twenty-two States argued that *Betts* was "an anachronism when handed down" and should be overruled. It also records that Florida was supported by two other States.[^2] Two later official accounts describe Mondale's role in broader terms than the case report. The [[Minnesota Historical Society]] credits him with "spearheading a brief by 22 state attorneys general that influenced the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Gideon v. Wainwright."[^5] Presidential Proclamation 10185 of April 20, 2021, states that as Minnesota's Attorney General he "drew national attention in a landmark case before the U.S. Supreme Court that established that indigent criminal defendants have the right to legal counsel."[^6] The U.S. Reports show the twenty-two-state brief as filed, not argued. Oral argument for amici was made by J. Lee Rankin for the American Civil Liberties Union and by George D. Mentz for Alabama. The case report does not establish which attorney general led the drafting of the brief.[^4] ## Who Clarence Earl Gideon was the petitioner. The respondent was Wainwright, sued as Corrections Director.[^1][^2] [[Abe Fortas]] argued for Gideon by appointment of the Court (370 U.S. 932), with Abe Krash and Ralph Temple on the brief.[^4] Assistant Attorney General Bruce R. Jacob argued for Florida, with Attorney General Richard W. Ervin and A. G. Spicola, Jr., on the brief.[^4] Rankin argued for the ACLU and other amici urging reversal. Mentz argued for Alabama as amicus urging affirmance; Alabama Attorney General MacDonald Gallion and North Carolina Attorney General T. W. Bruton joined that brief.[^4] Oregon Attorney General Robert Y. Thornton and Assistant Attorney General Harold W. Adams filed a separate brief for Oregon.[^4] Black wrote for the Court.[^2] Justice Douglas joined the opinion and added a separate opinion.[^7] Justice Clark concurred in the result.[^8] Justice Harlan wrote a concurrence.[^9] ## What Gideon was charged in a Florida state court with breaking and entering a poolroom with intent to commit a misdemeanor, an offense that is a felony under Florida law.[^2] Wikipedia describes the intended offense as petty larceny; this article follows the opinion's wording.[^10] Gideon appeared without funds or a lawyer and asked for appointed counsel. The trial judge refused, stating that Florida law allowed appointment only for a defendant charged with a capital offense.[^2] Gideon conducted his own defense, the jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to five years in state prison.[^2] The Court reasoned that *Betts* had departed from *Powell v. Alabama*, 287 U.S. 45 (1932). It treated the Sixth Amendment guarantee of counsel as one of the fundamental rights made obligatory on the States by the Fourteenth Amendment.[^2] The separate opinions differed on scope. Douglas wrote that, since the Fourteenth Amendment's adoption, ten Justices had taken the view that it protects Bill of Rights guarantees against the States. He also wrote that rights so protected are not watered-down versions of the federal guarantee.[^7] Clark wrote that the decision "does no more than erase a distinction which has no basis in logic" between capital and noncapital cases.[^8] Harlan agreed that *Betts* should be overruled but wrote that it deserved "a more respectful burial." He added: "In truth the Betts v. Brady rule is no longer a reality."[^9] Harlan would apply the rule at least to offenses carrying the possibility of a substantial prison sentence. He wrote: "Whether the rule should extend to all criminal cases need not now be decided."[^9] According to Wikipedia, in *Garza v. Idaho* Justice [[Clarence Thomas]], joined by Justice [[Neil Gorsuch]], dissented and suggested that *Gideon* was wrongly decided. Justice [[Samuel Alito]] joined part of that dissent but not its call to overrule the case.[^10] ## Why The opinion of the Court states its reasoning. Governments spend large sums to prosecute crime, and defendants who can afford counsel hire the best lawyers they can. In the Court's words, these practices show the widespread belief that "lawyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries."[^2] The Court invoked the ideal of fair trials before impartial tribunals. It wrote that "This noble ideal cannot be realized if the poor man charged with crime" has to face his accusers without a lawyer.[^2] The Court relied on its earlier statements in *Grosjean v. American Press Co.* (1936) and *Johnson v. Zerbst* (1938) on the fundamental character of the right to counsel.[^2] ## When - June 3, 1961: Wikipedia dates the poolroom burglary to the early morning of this day.[^10] - 1942: *Betts v. Brady* was decided by a divided Court.[^2] - January 15, 1963: the case was argued.[^1] - March 18, 1963: the case was decided.[^1][^3] - August 5, 1963: Wikipedia dates Gideon's retrial with appointed counsel to this day. It states that the jury acquitted him after about an hour.[^10] - January 18, 1972: Wikipedia gives this as the date of Gideon's death in Fort Lauderdale.[^10] ## Where The prosecution was brought in a Florida state court. Wikipedia places the poolroom in Panama City, Florida.[^2][^10] Gideon's habeas petition was filed in the Florida Supreme Court.[^2] The Time Table places the decision in Washington, D.C.[^3] ## How After his conviction, Gideon petitioned the Florida Supreme Court for a [[writ of habeas corpus]]. That court denied all relief without an opinion.[^2] The Supreme Court granted certiorari (370 U.S. 908). Because Gideon was proceeding in forma pauperis, the Court appointed counsel for him. It asked both sides to address whether *Betts v. Brady* should be reconsidered.[^2] The Court reversed and remanded the case to the Supreme Court of Florida for further action not inconsistent with the opinion.[^2] Wikipedia states that Gideon was retried with W. Fred Turner as his appointed counsel.[^10] ## How many - Votes: the Time Table records the decision as 9–0, and the case report contains no dissent.[^3][^1] - States: twenty-two States and Commonwealths urged reversal. Florida was supported by two States, Alabama and North Carolina.[^4][^2] - Sentence: Gideon was sentenced to five years in state prison.[^2] - Releases: Wikipedia states that about 2,000 people were freed in Florida alone as a result of the decision. No primary source in the pack gives this figure.[^10] ## In the Minnesota record ### Who The Minnesota Legislative Reference Library lists Walter F. Mondale of [[Minneapolis]] as taking office as attorney general on May 4, 1960. It lists his predecessor, [[Miles Lord]], as taking office on January 3, 1955, and his successor, Robert W. Mattson, Sr., as taking office on December 30, 1964.[^11] The Federal Judicial Center lists Lord as attorney general of Minnesota from 1955 to 1960 and as U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota from 1961 to 1966. It records that President [[Lyndon Johnson]] nominated Lord to the federal district court on February 10, 1966.[^12] The Minnesota Historical Society states that Governor [[Orville Freeman]] appointed Mondale attorney general in May 1960, following the contentious resignation of the incumbent. It states that Mondale was elected to the office that fall. The Society describes him as a liberal Democrat and a strategist in the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.[^5] It also states that after [[Hubert Humphrey]] was elected Vice President in 1964, Governor [[Karl Rolvaag]] appointed Mondale to Humphrey's Senate seat.[^5] The proclamation gives Mondale's tenure as attorney general as 1960–1964.[^6] ### What The U.S. Reports name Mondale as one of twenty-two attorneys general on the brief urging reversal.[^4] The Historical Society's account says the brief "influenced" the ruling. It describes the ruling as one "which established the right of indigent defendants in felony cases to receive court-appointed counsel."[^5] The 2021 proclamation describes the right as belonging to indigent criminal defendants generally.[^6] In the case itself, Harlan's concurrence left open whether the rule extends to all criminal cases.[^9] ### When A Time Table row dates Mondale's amicus filing to 1962 and cites Wikipedia.[^13] The U.S. Reports list the brief but do not date it.[^4] A second Time Table row records the March 18, 1963 decision and cites the Court's opinion.[^3] ## Notes [^1]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Gideon v. Wainwright*, 372 U.S. 335 (1963), syllabus (decided March 18, 1963) — No. 155; argued January 15, 1963; holding that the indigent defendant's right to counsel is fundamental and that conviction without counsel violated the Fourteenth Amendment; *Betts v. Brady* overruled; reversed and remanded. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-372/pdf/USREPORTS-372-335.pdf [^2]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Gideon v. Wainwright*, 372 U.S. 335, 336–345 (1963) (opinion of the Court, Black, J.) — the Florida charge and refusal of counsel, the trial and five-year sentence, habeas denial, grant of certiorari, the Court's reasoning, the twenty-two States' argument, Florida supported by two States, and remand. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-372/pdf/USREPORTS-372-335.pdf [^3]: Justia (U.S. Supreme Court opinion page), *Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963)* — Time Table row TL-0133: March 18, 1963; decision recorded as 9–0; Washington, D.C.; Mondale's brief. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/372/335/ [^4]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Gideon v. Wainwright*, 372 U.S. 335, 335–336 (1963) (counsel and amici listing) — counsel for the parties; ACLU and Alabama amici who argued; the brief of twenty-two States and Commonwealths urging reversal, including Walter F. Mondale, Attorney General of Minnesota; Oregon's separate brief. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-372/pdf/USREPORTS-372-335.pdf [^5]: Minnesota Historical Society, *Walter F. Mondale Biography* (undated) — Mondale's appointment as attorney general by Governor Freeman in May 1960 and election that fall; his role in the twenty-two-state *Gideon* brief; his party affiliation; his Senate appointment by Governor Rolvaag. https://www.mnhs.org/mondale/biography [^6]: The President, *Proclamation 10185 — Death of Walter Mondale*, 86 Fed. Reg. 21633 (April 23, 2021) (dated April 20, 2021) — Mondale as Minnesota Attorney General 1960–1964; the proclamation's description of the *Gideon* case. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2021-04-23/pdf/2021-08655.pdf [^7]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Gideon v. Wainwright*, 372 U.S. 335, 345–347 (1963) (Douglas, J.) — joining the opinion of the Court; the historical view of the Fourteenth Amendment and the Bill of Rights. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-372/pdf/USREPORTS-372-335.pdf [^8]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Gideon v. Wainwright*, 372 U.S. 335, 347–349 (1963) (Clark, J., concurring in the result) — no constitutional distinction between capital and noncapital cases. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-372/pdf/USREPORTS-372-335.pdf [^9]: Supreme Court of the United States, *Gideon v. Wainwright*, 372 U.S. 335, 349–352 (1963) (Harlan, J., concurring) — agreeing that *Betts* should be overruled; scope limited to offenses carrying the possibility of a substantial prison sentence; extension to all criminal cases left undecided. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USREPORTS-372/pdf/USREPORTS-372-335.pdf [^10]: Wikipedia, *Gideon v. Wainwright* (revision 1377300467, retrieved October 27, 2026) — burglary date and place, petty-larceny description of the charge, retrial and acquittal, about 2,000 Florida releases, Gideon's death, and the *Garza v. Idaho* dissent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gideon_v._Wainwright [^11]: Minnesota Legislative Reference Library, *Minnesota Territorial and State Attorneys General, 1849–present* (compilation, undated) — Lord assumed office January 3, 1955; Mondale May 4, 1960; Mattson December 30, 1964. https://www.lrl.mn.gov/mngov/attygen [^12]: Federal Judicial Center, *Lord, Miles Welton* (biographical directory entry) — attorney general of Minnesota 1955–1960; U.S. attorney 1961–1966; nominated by Lyndon B. Johnson February 10, 1966. https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/lord-miles-welton [^13]: Wikipedia, *Walter Mondale* — cited by Time Table row TL-0125, which dates Mondale's amicus brief in *Gideon* to 1962. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Mondale