The Gideon v. Wainwright decision overturned a previous ruling in Betssv. Brady. My research was about this case, as it was never explained in the documentary.

Betts v. Brady was a case in which Betts was indicted for robbery in Maryland. He requested legal counsel but was denied by the judge. He filed a writ of habeas corpus to the Circuit Court for Washington Cty., Maryland, and to the Maryland Court of Appeals, both of which were also denied. He then took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, who also rejected his claim. The ruling was 6-3. I found this case interesting because it seems to me that the facts and processes of this case and Gideon were almost identical, yet int this case, Betts did not win. It goes to show that the opinions of the Justices can be very different through the passage of time.