Criminal Law
Prior to presenting your discussion postings watch the Effective Assistance of Counsel, Constitutional StandardLinks to an external site. video, read the Effective Assistance of CounselLinks to an external site. article, the Criminal ProcedureLinks 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.â€
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.
Sample Solution
Whether the Sixth Amendment right to counsel was violated in this case depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of the case, the amount of time and resources available to the public defender, and the quality of representation that Peter received.
The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right to counsel in all criminal prosecutions. This means that a defendant has the right to be represented by an attorney at all critical stages of the criminal process, including pretrial, trial, and appeal.
Full Answer Section
The Supreme Court has held that the right to counsel is a fundamental right that is essential to a fair trial. In the case of Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), the Court held that the government must provide counsel to indigent defendants in all felony cases. The Court has also held that the right to counsel applies to misdemeanor cases that carry the possibility of imprisonment. In determining whether the right to counsel has been violated, the courts will consider the following factors:- The complexity of the case: The more complex the case, the more time and resources the attorney will need to provide effective representation.
- The amount of time and resources available to the attorney: If the attorney has a large caseload, it may be difficult for them to provide effective representation to each client.
- The quality of representation that the defendant received: The courts will consider the attorney's experience, skill, and diligence in representing the defendant.
- The Right to Effective Counsel in Criminal Casesby Ronald L. Gainer (2009)
- The Sixth Amendment: A Comprehensive Guideby James E. Tomkovicz (2018)
- The Right to Counsel: A Critical Analysis of the American System of Criminal Justiceby William J. Stuntz (2001)
- Gideon v. Wainwright(1963)
- Argersinger v. Hamlin(1972)
- Strickland v. Washington(1984)
- Wiggins v. Smith(2003)
- Harrington v. Richter(2011)