Schmerber v. California

Born on 19 June 1910 in Memphis to a Jewish immigrant, Abe Fortas was a gifted scholar at a very early age. Fortas started his law career as a professor, under the tutelage of William O. Douglas (also a Supreme Court justice). He excelled in his profession, becoming a prominent Washington attorney before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 1965. Fortas was well-known and revered for was the amount of pro bono work which he did. One of his pro bono clients was Clarence Gideon. Gideon was convicted in a Florida state court of breaking into a poolroom and taking the money from a vending machine. Gideon was unable to afford an attorney and the court refused to appoint one. He successfully prepared his own appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, claiming that the state's refusal to provide legal counsel was illegal. The Court agreed to hear his case and Fortas was appointed his attorney.

That case Gideon v. Wainwright resulted in the landmark ruling that every person, regardless of financial means, was entitled to an attorney in a criminal case.