50 Years After Gideon v. Wainwright

Is The US Immune to Claims Of Intentional Wrongful Acts of Prison Guards?

50 years ago the US Supreme Court required states to provide lawyers to poor people accused of committing crimes. In that case, Gideon v. Wainwright, the defendant — Clarence Gideon — wrote his own brief in longhand.

Today, the Supreme Court heard argument from Kim Millbrook. He too wrote his own brief. This time the issue is whether the US has immunity for intentional wrongful acts of prison guards.