"If an obscure Florida convict named Clarence Earl Gideon had not sat down in his prison cell . . . to write a letter to the Supreme Court . . . the vast machinery of American law would have gone on functioning undisturbed. But Gideon did write that letter, the Court did look into his case . . . and the whole course of American legal history has been changed." —Robert F. Kennedy

In June 1961, a burglary occurred at the Bay Harbor Pool Room in Panama City, FL.  Police arrested Clarence Earl Gideon after he was found nearby with a pint of wine and some change in his pockets. Gideon, who could not afford a lawyer, asked a Florida Circuit Court judge to appoint one for him arguing that the Sixth Amendment entitles everyone to a lawyer. The judge denied his request and Gideon was left to represent himself. He did a poor job of defending himself and was found guilty of breaking and entering and petty larceny. While serving his sentence in a Florida state prison, Gideon began studying law, which reaffirmed his belief his rights were violated when the Florida Circuit Court refused his request for counsel. From his prison cell, he handwrote a petition asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case and it agreed. The Court unanimously ruled in Gideon’s favor, stating that the Six Amendment requires state courts to provide attorneys for criminal defendants who cannot otherwise afford counsel.

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About the materials

These materials were developed for students of various skill levels, and teachers should choose the level that works best for their students.  Answers to the background questions, vocabulary, and activities can be found in the FOR TEACHERS ONLY tab under each case.

Background summary and questions to consider (by reading level)

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Important vocabulary (by reading level)

• •••/•• 
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Legal Concepts

• Right to Counsel
• Due Process

Other useful background information

• How the Case Moved through the Court System

Activities*

The Case

• Document Analysis

• What Does the Sixth Amendment Mean? To Whom Does It Apply?

• Does a Lawyer Really Make a Difference In a Trial?

• Political Cartoon Analysis

• The Evolution of a Decision

After the Case

• WebQuest: In Forma Pauperis

• WebQuest: How to Provide Counsel to Indigent Defendants

• Expanding Criminal Rights: In re Gault and Argersinger v. Hamlin

• Gideon at 40: Understanding the Right to Counsel (A lesson plan from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers)

* Answers to the background questions, vocabulary, and activities can be found in the FOR TEACHERS ONLY tab under each case.

Teaching strategies used

• Role Play
• Political Cartoon Analysis
• Case Study
• WebQuest

Planning time and activities

If you have one day . . .

• Begin your study of Gideon by having students complete the Document Analysis activity.
• Read the appropriate background summary (•) as a class and have students answer the questions. Discuss as a class.
• Complete the video activity: Does a Lawyer Really Make a Difference In a Trial?
• For homework, have students read the Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion and answer the questions. (In doing the video activity, students will have already found out the outcome of the case. Have them read the opinion anyway. Tell them it's important that they understand the Court's reasoning.)

If you have two days . . .

• Begin your study of Gideon by having students complete the Document Analysis activity.
• Read the appropriate background summary (•) as a class and have students answer the questions. Discuss as a class.
• Complete the What Does the Sixth Amendment Mean? To Whom Does It Apply? activity.
• For homework, have students read the Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion and answer the questions.
• On the second day, discuss the homework. Move on to the video activity: Does a Lawyer Really Make a Difference In a Trial?
• Complete the Political Cartoon Analysis.
• If desired, for homework have students complete Expanding Criminal Rights: In re Gault and Argersinger v. Hamlin.

If you have three days . . .

• Begin your study of Gideon by having students complete the Document Analysis activity.
• Read the appropriate background summary (•) as a class and have students answer the questions. Discuss as a class.
• For homework, have students complete What Does the Sixth Amendment Mean? To Whom Does It Apply?.
• On the second day, complete the video activity: Does a Lawyer Really Make a Difference In a Trial?
• Read the Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion and answer the questions.
• For homework, have students complete the Political Cartoon Analysis. 
• On the third day, discuss responses to the Political Cartoon activity. Use that as a lead in to the WebQuest: How to Provide Counsel to Indigent Defendants activity. There will probably not be enough time for presentations, so the class can skip that portion of the activity.
• For homework, have students respond to the question in the conclusion section of the WebQuest: How to Provide Counsel to Indigent Defendants activity.

If you have four days . . .

• Complete all the activities listed for "If you have three days . . ." with the exception of the homework for the third day. For homework, have students finalize their WebQuest: In Forma Pauperis presentations instead of doing the conclusion question.
• On the fourth day, have students present their WebQuest findings. Students should respond in writing to the question in the conclusion section of the WebQuest.
• For homework, have students complete the Expanding Criminal Rights: In re Gault and Argersinger v. Hamlin.

Note to Teacher

In lieu of the WebQuest on days three and four, have students peruse the Recommended Resources listed in the RESOURCES tab and respond to the following questions:

• Is there "equal justice under the law" for rich and poor defendants in this country? Explain.
• If not, what do you think needs to be done to ensure that all people receive "equal justice under the law?"

Follow up with a class discussion.

• Key Excerpts from the Majority Opinion
• Key Excerpts from the Concurring Opinions
• Summary of the Decision
• Full Text of the Majority Opinion (external link)

Recommended Resources

• Listen to the Oral Arguments (Oyez)
• Gideon Reviewed: The State of the Nation 40 Years Later 
• Gideon at Forty: The Promise Comes with a Price Tag 
• Fixing a System that Denies Justice to the Poor

For Teachers Only