1. Dialogue on John Adams and His Legacy Part 3: “If You Cannot Afford an Attorney…”

2. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?”

3. Poor persons accused of a crime deserve to have a lawyer represent them for free. Do you agree or disagree?

4. Clarence Gideon mug shot, 1961. Photo courtesy of the Florida Department of Corrections.

5. Clarence Gideon’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court. Facsimile courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration.

6. “That government hires lawyers to prosecute and defendants who have the money hire lawyers to defend are the strongest indications of the widespread belief that lawyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries. The right of one charged with a crime to counsel may not be deemed fundamental and essential to fair trials in some countries, but it is in ours. From the very beginning, our state and national constitutions and laws have laid great emphasis on procedural and substantive safeguards designed to assure fair trials …in which every defendant stands equal before the law. This noble ideal cannot be realized if [a person] charged with crime has to face his accusers without a lawyer to assist him.” Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)

7. Clarence Gideon’s tombstone. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

8. Poor persons accused of a crime deserve to have a lawyer represent them for free. Do you agree or disagree?