But, the Miranda rights we hear today might have been quite a bit shorter had it not been for convicted thief, Clarence Gideon. Gideon was arrested and convicted of theft in 1961, but as legend has it, he hand wrote an appeal in pencil claiming that his Sixth Amendment right had been violated. The Sixth Amendment states that an accused has the right to have access to council during his defence.
Gideon's appeal was taken to the Supreme Court where it was upheld and he was granted a new trial. During the new trial, now with a lawyer at his side, he was found not guilty of the break-in and was acquitted.
The case rocked the legal world and set the precedent where an accused would have access to a lawyer and, more importantly, if the accused could not afford a lawyer, the state would provide one for him.
This precedent also filtered down to the Miranda rights, where an accused is not only advised of their right to remain silent, but is also advised of their right to a state funded lawyer; all thanks to a man with an 8th grade education and a pencil.
