As I have written here on this website – “The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides that anyone accused of a crime has the right to assistance of counsel for their defense. …  In 1963 in Gideon v. Wainwright, the United States Supreme Court ruled that the 6th Amendment required the government give counsel to all defendants charged with felony crimes who are unable to afford an attorney. And in 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court extended this protection to all defendants charged with crimes that are punishable by imprisonment.”

Read more from the American Bar Association Journal on the 5oth Anniversary of this case.

Read more about What You Need to Know About Using the Public Defender.