"[1] After being denied a request for court-appointed counsel, Scott was convicted in a bench trial of shoplifting and fined $50.

The statute applicable to his case set the maximum penalty at a $500 fine and one year in jail.

Writing for four of the justices, Rehnquist clarified the Court's holding in Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972) and argued that states could sentence a convicted criminal to imprisonment only if that person had been represented by counsel.

Since Scott was not sentenced to imprisonment, even though the applicable statute allowed for it, the state was not obligated to provide counsel.

He read Argersinger as saying that the right to jury trial existed when (1) a non-petty offense punishable by more than 6 months of jail time and (2) actual imprisonment was likely despite the authorized maximum penalty.