1. Supreme Court Decision and Reasoning
Gideon v wainwright
Supreme Court Decision and Reasoning

2. Precedent Cases
Powell v. Alabama (1932) – 9 African-American men arrested for rape – could not hire a lawyer. Found guilty, appealed numerous time.
States must provide legal counsel in death penalty cases
Betts v. Brady (1942) – Betts arrested for robbery and could not afford a lawyer – found guilty
Court ruled that in extraordinary circumstances the state must provide counsel, but not in every situation.
E.g., illiteracy, mental deficiency, etc.
Gideon v. Wainwright: Should Betts be reconsidered?

3. Betts v Brady, 1942 Read the majority and minority opinions
Record the arguments Made by Owens (Majority) and Black (Minority)

4. Gideon v Wainwright 1961
Teacher may want to show the court scene toward the beginning of the movie Gideon’s Trumpet starting Henry Fonda. This shows the difficulty Mr. Gideon had in defending himself but shows the judge trying to help him the best he can.

5. Gideon v Wainwright
You are now the Supreme Court having to decide this question:
Should the 14th amendment provision of “due process” apply to all state laws?
Should Betts v Brady be overturned and should every defendant be provided a lawyer if they can’t afford one?
Record the arguments for Gideon and for the State of Florida on your sheet of paper.
Make your decision on the two questions and support it with legal reasoning and factual evidence.
Teacher should show the Supreme Court scene in which Abe Fortas argues for Gideon and the Attorney General of Florida argues against Gideon. The teacher should pause the video after Fortas and allow students to complete the arguments made by Fortas. Then show the Florida Attorney General and pause again to help students find the key arguments.
Mini-SC groups should make their final decision and defend it with prior case precedent and language from the U.S. Constitution. They can rely on Powell, Betts, and also the Constitutional Amendments.

6. Supreme Court Decision
Hugo Black (Justice who wrote dissenting opinion on Betts v Brady wrote the decision stating two things:
Every defendant should be granted a lawyer if they can’t afford one
The 14th amendment incorporates the Bill of Rights into it and applies to state laws.