In the 1963 case of Gideon v. Wainwright, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that under the terms of the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, state courts are required to provide counsel in criminal cases to defendants who cannot afford their own attorneys. At the time, state courts were required to provide lawyers only for defendants accused of capital crimes. Clarence Gideon, a semiliterate indigent with a history of petty crime, had been arrested on suspicion of burglary and was denied his request for an attorney. He defended himself and, not surprisingly, was convicted of breaking and entering and sentenced to five years in jail. In their final decision, the Court held that the right to the assistance of counsel—whether in the case of capital or noncapital crimes—was fundamental and was necessary for due process of law.