Right to Counsel (6th Am)
What does "Right to Counsel (6th Am)" mean in law?
The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to the assistance of counsel in all criminal prosecutions, which the Supreme Court in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) held applies to state felony prosecutions through the Fourteenth Amendment, requiring states to provide counsel for indigent defendants. In Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972), the Court extended this right to any misdemeanor case in which the defendant faces actual imprisonment. The right to counsel attaches at the initiation of adversarial judicial proceedings -- whether by formal charge, preliminary hearing, indictment, information, or arraignment -- and applies at all critical stages of the prosecution, including arraignment, plea hearings, trial, and sentencing. The Sixth Amendment right is offense-specific, meaning that once it attaches for a particular charge, police may not deliberately elicit statements about that offense without counsel present (Massiah v. United States, 1964), though they may question the defendant about unrelated offenses.
Definition
The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to the assistance of counsel in all criminal prosecutions, which the Supreme Court in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) held applies to state felony prosecutions through the Fourteenth Amendment, requiring states to provide counsel for indigent defendants. In Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972), the Court extended this right to any misdemeanor case in which the defendant faces actual imprisonment. The right to counsel attaches at the initiation of adversarial judicial proceedings -- whether by formal charge, preliminary hearing, indictment, information, or arraignment -- and applies at all critical stages of the prosecution, including arraignment, plea hearings, trial, and sentencing. The Sixth Amendment right is offense-specific, meaning that once it attaches for a particular charge, police may not deliberately elicit statements about that offense without counsel present (Massiah v. United States, 1964), though they may question the defendant about unrelated offenses.
Example
An indigent defendant charged with burglary appeared in state court without an attorney, and under Gideon, the court was constitutionally required to appoint counsel before proceeding, because no person can be assured a fair trial without the guiding hand of a lawyer.