clarence gideon was involved in the justice system since he was a kid. he had been getting in trouble. >> trouble seemed to find gideon. literally small change had gone miss ing from this cigarette machine, maybe $5 total. that's the pool hall there on the bottom. some wine, some beer and a few bottles of coca-cola were gone. the witnesses saw gideon that night with pockets full of change. gideon found himself facing serious time in prison. >> i have no council >> why do you not have council? >> i would like someone to represent me. >> i would have to deny you request to a point you council in this case. >> gideon,000 this was unfair. >> by asking the court to appoint a lawyer, gideon thought he had the right to counsel. >> this right is a basic right to in in in the constitution because the threat that is presented by imprisonment and even execution is a threat that the government should allow to have. >> gideon had to represent himself because the state of florida denied a lawyer. the entire trial lasted a day before he was found guilty and sentenced to

the supreme court didn't set gideon free but it gave him a fair trial with a competent attorney. >> not guilty. >> clarence earl gideon was a free man. the man who won a landmark supreme court case went to live a normal living with a job pumping gas. >> when i read where it says equal justice under law, i'm very inspired by that. i'm very comforted by that. but i know a lot of people are treated unfairly. i see it as something encouraging but i don't see it yet. >> it's written into constitution and established into the goal for society to reach for and live up to. people will fall short, rights can be ignored or even trampled. with nothing more than a pencil and knowledge. >> if you know your rights you can protect your rights. if you don't know your rights you can't. they will always be there. you can fight for them. that was gideon's story. he knew he had a right that was taken way from him and he fought to get it back. >> if you are wondering how it is they had a televised proceeding of the gideon trial they reenacted it on television and they had gideon and the judges play themselves. now i would like

clarence gideon was involved in the justice system since he was a kid. getting in trouble. >> trouble seemed to find gideon. literally small change had gone miss ing from this cigarette machine, maybe $5 total. that's the pool hall there on the bottom. some wine, some beer and a few bottles of coca-cola were gone. the witnesses saw gideon that night with pockets full of change.

public defenders 2013 justice summit on march 19 to discuss ways to better fulfill gideon's promise justice for all where clarence combid gideon convicted to be stealing change at a pool hall. he wrote a petition to the supreme court from his jail cell arguing that his rights had been violated. he presented a victory for civil rights and justice. san francisco one of the first cities in the united states to establish a public defenders office opened it's doors in 1921. whereas gideon's promise lives on in the san francisco public defenders office which service 25,000 indigent people every year. whereas city of the san francisco joined with the public defenders and the legal aid lawyers to celebrate the right to counsel. therefore be it resolved the san francisco -- march 18th as gideon versus wayne right day as acknowledgment for the 50 years of the united states landmark decision as well as the work of the public defenders who continue to fulfill the rights. [ applause ] >> thank you very much. i would like to thank the board of supervisors and the mayor's office as well. i would like to share with the public de