Unable to pay for a lawyer, a man arrested for breaking and entering was forced to defend himself in court, resulting in a sentence of five years in prison. Was this fair? That question took Gideon v. Wainwright all the way to the Supreme Court, where it was decided that state courts should be required to provide attorneys to defendants in criminal cases who cannot afford their own. As stated by Justice Hugo Black, "Lawyers in criminal courts are necessities, not luxuries." Gideon v. Wainwright: The Right to Free Legal Counsel is a vivid account that delves into the judicial process that went into this landmark case.