Rights & liberties
right to counsel
A criminal defendant's right to a lawyer, provided at public expense if they cannot afford one, in any case that could result in imprisonment.
In full
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) extended the right to state felony cases, and later cases extended it to any prosecution carrying actual jail time and to critical pretrial stages. The right includes effective assistance, though the standard for proving ineffectiveness is demanding. There is no equivalent right to counsel in most civil cases, including eviction and deportation.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.