W. Fred Turner, 81; Case Led to Public Defender System

W. Fred Turner, 81, the attorney who successfully defended Clarence Earl Gideon in a U.S. Supreme Court-mandated retrial in 1963, which resulted in the creation of the American public defender system, was found dead Monday at his home in Kings Point, Fla.

Turner worked as a private attorney until 1979, when he was elected a circuit judge, retiring in 1991.

The landmark case began at a pool hall in 1961 when a patron told police he saw Gideon, then 50, steal change and cases of beer, wine and soda before leaving in a cab. Gideon repeatedly asked for a court-appointed attorney, but a judge denied his request.

Supreme Court justices ruled that criminal defendants are entitled to legal representation even if they cannot afford a lawyer.

The case resulted in the creation of public defender systems across the nation.

Turner won an acquittal for Gideon in the second trial, asking jurors how Gideon could have made off with several beverage cases when the cab driver testified he had had nothing with him.