Right to Counsel

Every individual is afforded the right to counsel in criminal proceedings. It is the liability of the government to provide every defendant facing criminal charges with legal representation that also is considered sufficient (2011). The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees every individual the right to a swift and public trial from an unbiased jury of his or her peers in the state or district in which the crime was committed in (1995-2011). The district should have been beforehand established by law, and to be educated of the nature and reason for the charge, the right to face the eyewitness in opposition of him or her, to have necessary process for gathering eyewitnesses in his or her support (1995-2011). Last, the Sixth Amendment affords and individual the right to have the aid of an attorney for his or her defense (1995-2011). The last statement of the Sixth Amendments establishes that every individual has a right to counsel from the very second he or she is placed in police confinement (2011). The judgments of the U.S. Supreme Court also indicates that the Right to Counsel be provided to any individual who is insolvent or penniless and that the individual is guaranteed the right to the attendance of a court-appointed counsel at a crucial point in the criminal trial (2011). The crucial points of these proceedings are composed of custodial questioning, pre-charge lineups, preliminary examinations, arraignment, trial, punishment, and the first appeal of guilty verdict (2011). The Right to Counsel was initiated as a response to the English custom of refusing the aid of counsel in severe criminal proceedings that forces individuals to be present in court and represent his or herself in his or her own words (2011). An example of the strictness of the practice to deny counsel is evident in the trial of Mary Stuart,