The Right to Counsel

In 1963, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Gideon v. Wainwright (372 U.S. 335) that, "reason and reflection require us to recognize that in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless one is provided for him." Declaring it an "obvious truth" that "lawyers in criminal courts are necessities not luxuries", the Supreme Court ruled that states must provide counsel to indigent defendants in felony cases.

The right to counsel has been consistently extended to any case where the accused risks a potential loss of liberty.¹

Twenty-four states filed amicus briefs to the Supreme Court when it heard Gideon v. Wainwright, urging the Court to impose a new standard of fairness on state criminal proceedings by mandating that states provide counsel to indigents in felony trials.

The right to counsel is also enshrined in Louisiana's constitution. Article 1, Section 13 states that any person who is indigent and has been arrested or detained for any offense has a right to a court appointed attorney "at each stage of the proceeding". Further, the legislature is directed to "provide for a uniform system for securing and compensating qualified counsel for indigents".

¹ Gideon established the right to counsel for felony trials. Following cases extend that right to: direct appeals - Douglas v.California, 372 US 353(1963); custodial interrogation - Miranda v. Arizona, 384 US 436 (1966); juvenile proceedings resulting in confinement - In Re Gault, 387 US 1 (1967); critical stages of preliminary hearings - Coleman v. Alabama, 399 US 1 (1970); misdemeanors involving possible imprisonment - Argersinger v. Hamlin, 407 US 25 (1972); and misdemeanors involving a suspended sentence - Shelton v. Alabama, 535 US 654 (2002).