The Gideon Case

Name: The Gideon Case
Author: Bruce R. Jacob
ISBN: 9780813079547

Inside the Supreme Court's Historic Right to Counsel Decision

by Bruce R. Jacob

Published by: University Press of Florida

This book offers an unparalleled history of the pivotal legal battle that established the right to a public defender and reshaped the American justice system, written by the lawyer who argued and lost the case before the Supreme Court.

236 Pages6.00 × 9.0023 b/w illus., notes, index

Hardcover
9780813079547
Published: February 17, 2026

$45.00

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EPUB
9780813075266
Published: February 17, 2026

(Ebook delivery via Leaf eReader app.)

$45.00

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PDF
9780813074221
Published: February 17, 2026

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$90.00

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Description
Authors
Praise
Table of Contents

The complete history of the pivotal legal battle before the Supreme Court that established the right to a public defender and reshaped the American justice system, written by a lawyer closely involved in the case

The “Gideon” Case offers an unparalleled inside view of the landmark Gideon v. Wainwright case, written by Bruce Jacob, the assistant attorney general who argued the case for the state of Florida in 1963. Clarence Earl Gideon, charged with a felony in Florida, could not afford a lawyer and petitioned the US Supreme Court for his right to a court-appointed lawyer. The court ruled unanimously in Gideon’s favor, creating the right to counsel for all indigent defendants facing criminal felony charges in every state in the union.

From the details of Gideon’s initial arrest in Florida to the momentous ruling in Washington, this book presents a close account of the courtroom scenes, constitutional debates, and personal transformations sparked by one of the most consequential decisions in Supreme Court history. After losing the case, Jacob, then in private practice, immediately became a volunteer public defender, and for the next 55 years as a law professor continued to provide free legal help to indigent defendants and appellants in criminal cases. With behind-the-scenes accounts of key figures, in-depth analysis of constitutional law, and a vivid portrayal of legal practice in the early 1960s, this book is an essential read for historians, legal scholars, and anyone intrigued by the workings of the US justice system.

Bruce R. Jacob is professor emeritus and dean emeritus at the Stetson University College of Law. In 1963, as assistant attorney general of Florida, Jacob argued and lost the Gideon v. Wainwright case before the US Supreme Court. He then became a law professor and dean of two law schools, taught constitutional law, founded legal assistance programs, and taught law students how to represent defendants in criminal cases.

“This book is the ultimate insider’s account of the Gideon case written by the lawyer tasked with defending Florida against Gideon’s demand for counsel before the US Supreme Court. This account places Jacob’s very personal perspective within the wider law regarding securing the right to an attorney.”—R. Mitchell Prugh, University of Florida Levin College of Law
“Sixty years after the Gideon case established a right to counsel throughout America for defendants who could not afford one, the lawyer who argued the losing side brings fresh details and insights about the case and tells how it changed his own life.”—Neil Skene, author of The Supreme Court of Florida: A Journey toward Justice, 1972–1987

Preface: About the Gideon Case and the Author

1. History at My Door

2. The Crime and the Arrest

3. The Right to Counsel Colloquy

4. Gideon’s Trial, Conviction, and Sentence

5. Petition for Review to the Florida Supreme Court

6. The Petition for Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court

7. The Florida Attorney General’s Office

8. The Summer of 1962: Working on the Gideon Case

9. Marriage, the Holland Firm, and Completion of the Brief

10. The Right to Counsel Before Gideon

11. The Brief for the Petitioner