Indigent Defendants and the Role of Their Public Defenders

On March 18, 1963, the Supreme Court held in Gideon v. Wainwright that states are responsible for representing defendants who are unable to afford their own attorneys.  Justice Hugo Black gave the Court’s opinion and stated, "in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person hauled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.  This seems to us to be an obvious truth."  This obligation imposed on states stems from the Sixth Amendment, which establishes a defendant’s right to counsel.  It also stems from the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment, which guarantees a defendant’s right to a fair legal process.  Today however, fifty years after Gideon was decided, the quality of legal representation afforded to indigent defendants is concerning in some states.