Which case established the right to counsel for indigent defendants in criminal prosecutions?

Which case established the right to counsel for indigent defendants in criminal prosecutions?

• A. Brown v. Board of Education
• B. Gideon v. Wainwright
• C. Mapp v. Ohio
• D. Loving v. Virginia

Answer: (B)

The right to counsel for indigent defendants in criminal prosecutions is a fundamental Six Amendment protection that the Supreme Court applied to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, ensuring a fair trial by guaranteeing legal representation when a defendant cannot afford an attorney. In Gideon v. Wainwright, the Court ruled that when a defendant is unable to hire a lawyer, the state must provide one, and this applies in all criminal prosecutions where imprisonment is at stake. This decision expanded earlier limits set by Powell v. Alabama, which had obligated counsel only in certain capital cases. The other cases mentioned address completely different issues—education and equal protection in Brown v. Board of Education, the exclusionary rule in Mapp v. Ohio, and anti-miscegenation laws in Loving v. Virginia—so they do not establish the right to counsel for indigents.