<Tab/>The question was "Why is the right to counsel a basic civil right?" This question was answered in the case of Gideon v Wainwright. There was a film created about the case talking about due process. <Tab/>The film begins in Florida with the breaking into and robbing of a poolroom. The officer pulls up and sees a young man by the name of Lester wade …showed first 75 words of 1189 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1189 total…Also the right to counsel is a basic civil right because a normal person has not been through all of the school and training that a lawyer has been through. They do not know how to ask questions and make the witness look like a fool like a lawyer does. So without counsel a person really does not have a fair trial and this is why the right to counsel is a basic civil right.