At Legal Times, Tony Mauro reports, "Supreme Court Says Right to Counsel Begins With First Appearance Before Judge."
A defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches at his first appearance before a magistrate, whether or not the prosecutor is also on hand, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday.
The Court's 8-1 decision in Rothgery v. Gillespie County, Texas, came as the justices began their final week before adjourning for the summer. The justices will take the bench again on Wednesday and possibly one other day this week.
The ruling in Rothgery dealt with a Texas "magistration" procedure under which a defendant goes before a magistrate judge, has bail set, and can be imprisoned -- all without the involvement of a prosecutor or the appointment of defense counsel.
And:
The decision may have limited impact because 43 states, plus the federal and Washington, D.C., governments, already appoint counsel for indigent defendants before or just after the initial appearance before a judge. And even in the remaining states -- Alabama, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia -- procedures in many cases conform to the Court's view of the Sixth Amendment right.
In addition, Souter stressed that "our holding is narrow" and does not decide whether the triggering of the right to counsel means the state must appoint counsel right away. "We do not decide whether the 6-month delay in appointment of counsel resulted in prejudice to Rothgery's Sixth Amendment rights," wrote Souter.
In his concurrence, Justice Samuel Alito Jr. stressed that he joined the majority on the assumption that this decision does not require immediate appointment of counsel when the right to counsel attaches. Alito said the appointment of counsel is required "only as necessary to guarantee the defendant effective assistance at trial."
Earlier coverage is here. Coverage of the oral argument is here. The ScotusWiki page is here; the opinion, here.
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