Contemporary Decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court

The Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution states “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.” The right to a speedy and public trial was intended to minimize the advantage of prosecutors over the public in matters of law criminal procedure. In today’s world, the Supreme Court has deduced the amendment to mean that in federal courts, counsel must be provided for indigent defendants unable to commission their own counsel. “In Faretta v. California, the Supreme Court held that an accused who "competently and intelligently" decides to forego his right to be represented by counsel is entitled to conduct his own defense without having a lawyer forced upon him against his will” (Gardner, 2000). Some major cases that have affected the change of the Sixth Amendment have been Gideon v. Wainwright in 1963 and Escobedo v. Illinois in 1964. These cases brought up questions in the meaning on the Sixth Amendment. In Gideon v. Wainwright, Gideon was charged in a Florida state court with a felony for breaking and entering. He lacked funds and was unable to hire a lawyer to prepare his defense. When he requested the court to appoint an attorney for him, the court refused, stating that it was only obligated to appoint counsel to indigent defendants in capital cases. Gideon defended himself in the trial; he was convicted by a jury and the court sentenced him to five years in a state prison. The state court's failure to appoint counsel for Gideon violated his right to a fair trial and due process of law as protected by the Sixth and Fourteenth...