Criminal Procedure Links to an external site. article, the Right to CounselLinks to an external site. article and review the Supreme Court Opinions synopses.
What is assistance of counsel?
For example: Two college friends, Richard and Peter are arrested by the Capital City police. They are accused of murder for setting fire to the Capital City University administration building one night and causing the death of a janitor in the fire. Both Richard and Peter were members of a student organization that claimed that the administration of the University was corrupt, and at a rally they carried signs outside the building that read “Burn it to the ground.”
Richard’s father is very rich. He hires a team of the most expensive lawyers in the country, and after an eight-day trial, Richard is acquitted by a jury. Richard’s lawyers sought and received a separate trial for him.
Peter’s parents have no money, and Peter has massive student loans and works two jobs to pay for school. He is represented by a public defender who has 120 other cases. Though the public defender does his best with limited time and resources, Peter is convicted after a three-day jury trial.
Peter is now appealing his conviction, claiming that having a public defender with 120 cases effectively denied his right to counsel.
Was this a violation of Peter’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel? Fully explain your answer. Be sure to support your answer with scholarly sources and appellate court opinions. Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length. Support your claims with examples from the required material(s) and/or other scholarly resources, and properly cite any references.
Full Answer Section
There are two types of counsel in the American legal system: retained counsel and appointed counsel. Retained counsel is an attorney who is hired by the defendant. Appointed counsel is an attorney who is appointed by the court to represent a defendant who cannot afford to hire their own attorney.
The right to counsel is not absolute. In some cases, a defendant may waive their right to counsel. However, a waiver of the right to counsel must be knowing and voluntary. This means that the defendant must understand their rights and the consequences of waiving them.
The right to counsel is also not unlimited. In some cases, the court may limit the assistance that an attorney can provide to a defendant. For example, the court may not allow an attorney to contact witnesses or to file certain motions.
The right to counsel is a fundamental right in the American legal system. It is essential to ensuring that all defendants have a fair trial.
Here are some of the key cases that have established the right to counsel:
- Gideon v. Wainwright (1963): This case established the right to appointed counsel for indigent defendants in all criminal cases where the defendant is facing a possible sentence of imprisonment.
- Argersinger v. Hamlin (1972): This case extended the right to appointed counsel to misdemeanor cases where the defendant could be sentenced to imprisonment for more than six months.
- Strickland v. Washington (1984): This case established the standard for determining whether a defendant has been denied the effective assistance of counsel. Under the Strickland standard, a defendant must show that their attorney's performance was deficient and that this deficiency prejudiced their case.
The right to counsel is a complex and evolving area of law. There are many cases that have interpreted and applied this right. If you are facing criminal charges, it is important to speak with an attorney to understand your rights and options.
Sample Answer
The assistance of counsel is a legal right guaranteed to criminal defendants in the United States by the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This right means that a defendant has the right to be represented by an attorney at all critical stages of their criminal case, from the initial interrogation to the appeal of their conviction.
The right to counsel is essential to ensuring a fair trial. An attorney can help a defendant understand their rights, prepare a defense, and cross-examine witnesses. They can also help to ensure that the prosecution does not violate the defendant's rights.