When the Sixth Amendment Triggers

June 23rd, 2008 Filed Under Legal News, Supreme Court Rulings

ROTHGERY v. GILLESPIE COUNTY, TEXASIn an 8-1 ruling, the Supreme Court made clear that an indigent defendant’s right to a lawyer begins when they are brought before a judge, and informed why they are being arrested and jailed. ”We merely reaffirm what we have held before and what an overwhelming majority of American jurisdictions understand in practice: a criminal defendant’s initial appearance before a judicial officer, where he learns the charge against him and his liberty is subject to restriction, marks the start of adversary judicial proceedings that trigger attachment of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel,” said Justice David Souter, who delivered the opinion of the court.The court ruled in favor of Walter Rothgery, whose request for a lawyer was denied by local Texas authorities for six months. Texas police relied on erroneous information that petitioner Walter Rothgery had a previous felony conviction to arrest him as a felon in possession of a firearm. The officers brought Rothgery before a magistrate judge, as required by state law, for a so-called “article 15.17 hearing,” at which the Fourth Amendment probable-cause determination was made, bail was set, and Rothgery was formally apprised of the accusation against him. After the hearing, the magistrate judge committed Rothgery to jail, and he was released after posting a surety bond. Rothgery had no money for a lawyer and made several unheeded oral and written requests for appointed counsel. He was subsequently indicted and rearrested, his bail was increased, and he was jailed when he could not post the bail. Subsequently, Rothgery was assigned a lawyer, who assembled the paperwork that prompted the indictment’s dismissal.Source: ABA Criminal Justice Section

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