Today marks the 63rd anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court landmark case of Gideon v. Wainwright. (See the Facts and Case Summary from www.uscourts.gov, and for more information click here.)
On March 18, 1963, the U.S. Supreme court held that the Sixth Amendment requires that indigent criminal defendants have the right to an attorney regardless of their ability to pay.
Sixty-three years later, we refer to this anniversary as “Defenders Day.” We honor that ruling that would lead to the development of the robust public defense system in our state that we know today. Criminal defense work in North Carolina and our state’s charge to uphold the Sixth Amendment are realized only through the combined efforts of state-employed defenders and their staff, as well as the pockets of private attorneys who add their names to the rosters and who choose to serve.