Scott v. Illinois
United States Supreme Court
440 U.S. 367 (1979)
Relevant factsFree
Scott (defendant) was convicted of shoplifting in a bench trial without appointed counsel and fined $50, though the offense carried a possible maximum penalty of a $500 fine or up to a year in jail; state courts affirmed over his objection that counsel should have been provided given the authorized possibility of imprisonment.
IssueFree
Whether the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments require that states provide defendants counsel whenever imprisonment is an authorized penalty.