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The 6th Amendment

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The Sixth Amendment
The Sixth Amendment is part of the bill of rights, which gives rights related to criminal prosecutions. These rights are important, without them we could simply be locked away and not know why, or be convicted without being able to defend oneself.
The Sixth Amendment is as follows: In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense (U.S. Const. amend. VI).
In today’s society, the Supreme Court has decided that the Sixth Amendment also means in federal courts, counsel must be provided for indigent defendants unable to obtain their own attorneys. The Supreme Court has made many decisions shaping the Sixth Amendment into what it is today while keeping it close to its original intent I believe. Some of the influential cases are: Johnson v. Zerbst, Betts v. Brady, Gideon v. Wainwright, Argerisnger v. Hamilton, Faretta v. California, and Strickland v. Washington. I decided to highlight these decisions because I believe they are good examples of how the Sixth Amendment has been interpreted and sculpted to fit in today’s world.
Indigent felony defendants in federal court are entitled to court-appointed counsel, decided in 1938 in Johnson v. Zerbst (Neubaur & Fradella, 2014). Then in 1942 we had the Betts v. Brady decision, in that case, the justices had ruled that indigent defendants need only be provided with a lawyer under special circumstances (Summary of the Decision, n.d.). Meaning indigent defendants in noncapital cases in state courts have no right to appointed counsel. That would be overruled with the Gideon v. Wainwright case in 1963. Where the Court held that the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of counsel is a fundamental right essential to a fair trial and, as such, applies the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment(Facts and Case Summary: Gideon v. Wainwright, n.d.). This seems to be one of the more widely known and discussed decisions. I have to agree with the decision. In my opinion I don’t think it matters the type of crime or courts, one needs the right to adequate defense, especially if facing jail time. That brings in Argerisnger v. Hamilton, in 1972, it was decided that indigent non-felony defendants have the right to appointed counsel if they are facing jail time (Neubaur & Fradella, 2014). I think this important because our system is complex, and most people don’t know more than the basics when it comes to court proceedings. This is why I would not urge the use of the right to represent one’s self unless you have studied laws and procedures thoroughly. In 1975 in Faretta v. California the Court held that a defendant in a state criminal trial has the constitutional right to refuse appointed counsel and conduct the trial when he or she voluntarily and intelligently elects to do so (SCOTUS Case Faretta, n.d.) However, a defendant who chooses to represent themselves cannot claim ineffective counsel after the fact. Which is again why I would not suggest this option without careful consideration of one’s knowledge of the system. In 1984, The Supreme Court gave the opinion that a defense attorney is ineffective only if proceedings were unfair and the outcome would have been different in Strickland v. Washington (Neubaur & Fradella, 2014). What is considered ineffective counsel would be defined even more through the years with cases like Wiggins v. Smith in 2003 and Padilla v. Kentucky in 2010.
The relevancy of original intent of the Constitution in whole is something that is still being argued by conservatives and liberals. One side believes in original intent, the other side taking the living document view. I think the Sixth Amendment and the rest of the Bill of Rights have been shaped by the dueling views and compromise has been somewhat accomplished. I tend to side with the living document side of the argument. Times change, society changes, we learn as we go. It only seems fitting that our laws and judicial system would do them same.

References
Facts and Case Summary: Gideon v. Wainwright (n.d.) Retrieved November 20, 2015, from http://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/facts-and-case-summary-gideon-v-wainwright
Neubaur, D. W. & Fradella, H.F. (2014). America’s Courts and the Criminal Justice System (11th ed.). [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved November 20, from http://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781285958798/cfi/8[s3]/8
SCOTUS Case Faretta (n.d.) Retrieved November 20, 2015, from http://datab.us/i/Faretta%20v.%20California
Summary of the Decision (n.d.) Retrieved November 20, 2015, from http://www.streetlaw.org/en/Page/593/Summary_of_the_Decision
U.S. Const. amend. VI

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