Abe Fortas
Videos
Abraham Fortas was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1965 to 1969. Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Fortas graduated
SCOTUS Justice Abe Fortas
One of Fortas's former residences (left) in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Fortas in 1939
Fortas with Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965
Gideon v. Wainwright
Videos
Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, is a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution requires U.S. states to provide attorneys to cr
Abe Fortas
…nomination, and he formed close ties with Johnson. Fortas also represented Clarence Earl Gideon before the U.S. Supreme Court in the landmark case Gideon v. Wainwright, involving the right to counsel. Nominated by Johnson to the Supreme Court in 1965, Fortas was confirmed by the Senate, and maintained a close working…
The first page of Gideon's handwritten petition for a writ of certiorari to the US Supreme Court.