This was the case that made sure everyone—rich, poor, or in between—gets a lawyer. That's right: even if you can't afford to pay for some dude or dudette in a suit to come help you in prison, you get one appointed for you at the state's expense.

You can thank the Fourteenth Amendment for that. In debating the Gideon v. Wainwright case, the Supreme Court decided that people can't be denied their right to a lawyer (as stated in the Sixth Amendment) just because they can't afford one. The court referenced the Fourteenth Amendment, which says that everyone must be treated equally under the law. Part of being treated equally means there can't be different services available or unavailable to someone based on how much money they have.

So here's how it went down:

Clarence Gideon was accused of robbery in 1961, and showed up to court all by himself because he couldn't afford legal representation. He asked the court to give him a lawyer, and he even referenced his Constitutional right to an attorney. (There's someone who didn't sleep through government class.) The court refused. In jail, Gideon wrote his petition to the U.S. Supreme Court on prison stationery, and they accepted the case.

Two years later, the Supreme Court made their decision: the right to a lawyer is a fundamental right under our Constitution, and that right applies to everyone equally, regardless of ability to pay. Of course, if you're wealthy, you can hire a slew of expensive attorneys who can probably out-argue an overworked public defender any day, but that's another issue.