Gideon was charged in Florida State court with a felony. He appeared in court w/o a lawyer. Requested the court appoint him one however according to Florida state law, an attorney is only appointed to an indigent defendant in capital cases.filed a habeas corpus and argued that the courts decision violated his constitutional right.
Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gideon in a unanimous decision. Justice black wrote an opinion for court stating that the 6th amendment requires state courts to provide attorneys for criminal defendants who cannot otherwise afford counsel. A fundamental right and thus must be required in state courts as well as federal courts. Created and expanded the need for public defenders which had previously been rare
