Which Supreme Court case established the right to counsel for defendants in state courts?

• A. Brown v. Board of Education
• B. Plessy v. Ferguson
• C. Roe v. Wade
• D. Gideon v. Wainwright

Answer: (D)

The main idea being tested is the right to legal counsel in criminal trials and how it applies in state courts. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) holds that when a defendant cannot afford an attorney, the state must provide one. The ruling ties the Sixth Amendment guarantee of counsel to state courts through the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process clause, making the right universal in criminal prosecutions, not just in federal cases. Before this decision, the Court had allowed the denial of counsel in many cases (with limited protections in capital cases in Powell v. Alabama and, later, Betts v. Brady). Gideon explicitly overruled Betts and established that fair treatment under the law requires appointed counsel for all defendants who can't afford an attorney, leading to the broader public defender systems we see today.