DigitalCommons@UM Carey Law

The goal of "Gideon at Fifty" is to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the landmark case Gideon v. Wainwright, which held that the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel has full force and effect for indigent defendants facing felony charges in state court prosecutions. Since Gideon was decided, the guarantee to counsel has been extended to misdemeanors and to “critical stages” of a criminal prosecution. However, many of the promises inherent in Gideon have gone unrealized. This Symposium aims to examine some of the areas in which indigent defendants would benefit from the guarantees of Gideon; namely, pretrial proceedings like bail hearings and arraignment, as well as later stages in a criminal prosecution, including plea bargaining and post-conviction.