The U.S. Supreme Court case Ferguson v. Georgia in 1960 revolved around the right of a defendant to have counsel present during questioning and testimony, an issue that was not clearly defined at the time under Georgia law. The petitioner, Robert Lee Ferguson, had been convicted for murder without having his lawyer present while he testified before a jury; this was due to a state statute which prohibited defense attorneys from consulting their clients during direct examination on stand. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of Ferguson, stating that denying him consultation with his attorney violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause as it deprived him of assistance necessary for his defense and thus fair trial rights were infringed upon. This landmark decision helped clarify defendants' rights regarding legal representation during trials.

The dissenting opinion in the Ferguson v. Georgia case is not available or was not recorded. The unanimous decision by the Supreme Court ruled that a Georgia law, which prevented defendants from testifying on their own behalf during trials, violated the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause. This ruling overturned Robert Lee Ferguson's conviction for murder because he was denied his constitutional right to testify and provide evidence in his defense at trial.