---
title: 'MULTIMEDIA: New Documentary Explores Landmark Right to Counsel Case'
description: 'A new documentary released by the Constitution Project and the New Media Advocacy Project commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/multimedia-new-documentary-explores-landmark-right-to-counsel-case'
section: news
date: '2013-03-22T17:28:14-04:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:34:39-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

A new documentary released by the Constitution Project and the New Media Advocacy Project commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's landmark 1963 decision in ***Gideon v. Wainwright***, requiring states to appoint lawyers for indigent defendants in criminal cases. Prior to this decision, some states only provided attorneys in cases with special circumstances, like death penalty cases. ***Defending Gideon*** is narrated by Martin Sheen and includes interviews with national experts, including former Vice-President Walter Mondale, former *N.Y. Times* reporter Anthony Lewis, and death-penalty attorney Bryan Stevenson. Clarence Gideon was convicted, without an attorney, of breaking into a pool hall in Florida and stealing money. When he was retried with legal counsel, he was acquitted. The video underscores the importance of guaranteeing effective representation, especially if a [person's life is at stake](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/representation-on-50th-anniversary-of-gideon-some-on-death-row-poorly-represented).

("Defending Gideon," [Constitution Project](https://constitutionproject.org/) & New Media Advocacy Project, released Mar. 18, 2013). See **[Representation](/death-penalty-representation?did=896&scid=68)** and **[U.S. Supreme Court](/news-us-supreme-court?did=248&scid=38)**. [**See DPIC's multimedia resources**](/multimedia-1?did=142&scid=42).