The Clarence Earl Gideon Mugshot Mug
- from our Affiliates
The origin of Public Defenders. In Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution requires the states to provide defense attorneys to criminal defendants charged with serious offenses who cannot afford lawyers themselves. The case began with the 1961 arrest of Clarence Earl Gideon. NOTE: ALL proceeds from sales at The Public Defender Project go towards providing and maintaining trial suits and clothing for our indigent clients.