Bill+Of+Rights+merrma19

=The 6th Amendment= =// "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." //=

=Description= When prosecuted, Americans deserve the right to a fair trial. This includes access to an attorney, a full jury, an opportunity to question witnesses against them and to find witnesses for themselves. Take note that this amendment is now applicable to all crimes requiring a trial. But it is important that we realize that it wasn't until 1963 before it was applicable to all offenses, not just federal ones.

Historical Applications


This is Clarence Earl Gideon. He was arrested in 1961 in Florida, with a felony of breaking and entering. When Mr.Gideon appeared in court, he asked the judge to appoint counsel for him, as he lacked the funds to hire an attorney on his own. The judge explained that, under Florida law, the only time the judge was authorized to make such an appointment was when the defendant was charged with a capital offense; Mr. Gideon was only charged with a felony offense, and so he had no right to appointed counsel. He defended himself as best he could, but was convicted and imprisoned. Gideon wrote to the State Supreme Court stating that his constitutional rights had been violated, but the Supreme Court denied any relief. In explaining its conclusions, the Court famously stated: “reason and reflection, require us to recognize that, in our adversary system of criminal justice, any person haled into court, who is too poor to hire a lawyer, cannot be assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him. This seems to us to be an obvious truth.” The Gideon Court continued: “The right of one charged with crime to counsel may not be deemed fundamental and essential to fair trials in some countries, but it is in ours. From the very beginning, our state and national constitutions and laws have laid great emphasis on procedural and substantive safeguards designed to assure fair trials before impartial tribunals in which every defendant stands equal before the law. This noble ideal cannot be realized if the poor man charged with crime has to face his accusers without a lawyer to assist him.” Although nothing was done to help Gideon specifically, and he was granted no relief, this case served as a main fallback for plenty to come, and eventually ended up being a root motivation to change the amendment's limitations to capital offenses only. You can find more information at: http://sixthamendment.org/gideon-v-wainwright-the-watershed-moment/



**Today's Application**
Americans still possess the right to a speedy and public trial by jury. In recent years, however, the government has demonstrated its willingness to ignore important constitutional safeguards found in the Sixth Amendment. Let's look at a case where an American citizen, captured on American soil, was captured and labeled an "enemy combatant", thus denying him access to an attorney and held without charge for more than three years. This man was named Jose Padilla, and he was arrested in 2002 for aiding terrorists. Pressure from civil liberties groups caused the case to be dropped and moved to a civilian court. If you would like to know more about the case, you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Padilla_%28prisoner%29. Amendment VI is in full affect today and supports many financially unable people. That being said, there are some complications to the amendment that are in question.

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