Sixth Amendment: Rights in criminal trials

The text

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

Text: National Archives transcription of the amendments in their original form (spelling and punctuation as in the original).

What it means

• A person accused of a crime has the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury in the state and district where the crime happened.
• The accused must be told the charges, may confront the witnesses against him, may use the court's power to bring in favorable witnesses, and has the right to a lawyer.
• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) requires states to provide a lawyer to defendants who cannot afford one in felony cases.

Who proposed it

James Madison of Virginia introduced the proposals in the House of Representatives on June 8, 1789. He drew on state declarations of rights, especially George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights (1776), and on the amendments the state ratifying conventions had recommended. The House approved 17 amendments; the Senate cut and combined them to 12, and Congress sent those 12 to the states on September 25, 1789.

When it was proposed and ratified

• Proposed by Congress: September 25, 1789. Congress approved the 12-article joint resolution (House September 24, Senate September 25, 1789).
• Ratified: December 15, 1791. Virginia became the 11th of the 14 states to ratify, completing ratification of Articles 3–12 of the 1789 resolution (Amendments 1–10).

Amendments are not signed into law. Congress proposes them by a two-thirds vote of both houses, and they become part of the Constitution when three-fourths of the states ratify. The President has no formal role (Article V).

Why it was made

The Constitution of 1787 had no bill of rights. Anti-Federalists such as George Mason, who refused to sign it partly for this reason, warned that a strong national government could trample individual liberties. Several states ratified only after recommending amendments, and Federalists promised to add them. Madison kept that promise in the First Congress. The amendments limited only the federal government until the Supreme Court began applying most of them to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment (selective incorporation).

The Declaration of Independence accused the King of "depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury" and of "transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences." Requiring trial in the district where the crime happened answered that grievance.

Key Supreme Court cases

• Gideon v. Wainwright (1963): States must provide a lawyer to poor defendants in felony cases
• Miranda v. Arizona (1966): Right to counsel during custodial interrogation (with the 5th)

FCLE tips

• Every 6th Amendment right is about criminal prosecutions.

Related study guide sections

• Chapter 6: Amendment 6
• Chapter 6: The Bill of Rights overview
• All 27 amendments