Gideon v. Wainwright Precedents:
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Betts v. Brady (1942): It was held that a refusal to appoint counsel for
an indigent defendant charged with a felony did not necessarily violate the
Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
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Palko v. Connecticut (1937): The Court refused to hold that the
Fourteenth Amendment made the double jeopardy provision of the Fifth
Amendment obligatory on the States.
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Powell v. Alabama (1932): The Court declared that the right to the aid
of counsel is of (a) fundamental character.
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Grosjean v. American Press Co. (1936): The Court held that certain
fundamental rights safeguarded by the first eight amendments against federal
action, were also safeguarded against state action by the due process law
clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
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Johnson v. Zerbst: The assistance of counsel is one of the safeguards of
the Sixth Amendment deemed necessary to insure fundamental human rights of
life and liberty.