The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees numerous rights to criminal defendants. One of the most important is the right to an attorney and the right to adequate representation. These rights whether the defendant is indigent and received a public defender or they hired their own attorney.
The right to adequate representation doesn’t mean perfect representation, but a lawyer’s incompetence may justify a court overturning a guilty verdict.
The Sixth Amendment right to counsel is one of several rights that guarantees criminal defendants a fair trial in criminal law. An attorney’s legal knowledge gives defendants a chance to prevail in a criminal trial. The Sixth Amendment also provides for the appointment of counsel for indigent defendants. The court will appoint a public defender to such defendants.
The right to counsel applies at all critical stages of a criminal proceeding. Typically, this means from the arraignment hearing, when the court notifies a defendant of their criminal charges, through the first appeal, if any, of the verdict.
Criminal defense attorneys owe their clients a duty of loyalty. They must also avoid any conflicts of interest. In general, the attorney must assist the client throughout the case. This includes appearing on their behalf at trial and advising them of various courses of action. The attorney must appear competent during the trial to promote fairness in the criminal justice system.
The right to counsel does not in and of itself guarantee a fair trial. The attorney’s performance must be adequate, and they must put in the appropriate time and effort to represent their client. This is known as the effective assistance of counsel.
The right to the effective assistance of counsel is important for several reasons. First, it provides a legal professional to advocate for the defendant with zeal. Second, it legitimizes the adversarial court system by producing more just case results.
What if a defense attorney is ineffective during a criminal prosecution? They violate the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial. In analyzing claims of ineffective counsel, the argument centers on whether the lawyer’s conduct so undermined the case that the trial cannot be relied upon as having produced a just result.
In Strickland v. Washington (1984), the U.S. Supreme Court clarified when a criminal defense attorney’s ineffective representation violates the Sixth Amendment. There, the Supreme Court established a test for determining such violations. Courts must judge these claims based on the “reasonably effective assistance” test. They must also consider all the surrounding circumstances.
This means, in a criminal case, the defendant challenging their attorney’s assistance must show the following: 1) Their lawyer’s legal representation was so deficient that it fell below an objective standard of reasonableness. In other words, the lawyer made errors so severe that they didn’t function as the counsel guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment and 2) The deficient performance unfairly prejudiced the defense such that, but for the ineffective assistance of counsel, there is a reasonable probability the result of the case would have been different. That means the errors were so severe that they deprived the defendant of a fair trial.
The defendant must prove both elements. If they cannot, the conviction or sentence cannot be said to result from a breakdown in the judicial process such that the result is unreliable.
When courts review a lawyer’s advocacy, they’re deferential to the lawyer. In other words, courts are bound by a strong presumption that a lawyer’s conduct falls within the range of reasonable professional assistance.
If you or a loved one is in a bind as a result of a criminal charge, immediately contact a Seattle Criminal Attorney. A Criminal lawyer is not going to judge you and understands that everyone makes mistakes. Hiring a Seattle Criminal Lawyer to help can – at a minimum – reduce penalties and can help direct people on how to best deal with their criminal charge, and many times even get them dismissed. So, it should go without saying that someone cited for a misdemeanor or felony should hire a qualified Seattle Criminal Lawyer as soon as possible. Criminal charges can cause havoc on a person’s personal and professional life. Anyone charged with a crime in Washington State should immediately seek the assistance of a seasoned Seattle Criminal Lawyer. SQ Attorneys can be reached at (425) 359-3791 and/or (206) 441-0900.
