Right to Counsel (Sixth Amendment)

Garcia examines the last 30 years of Supreme Court decisions that have interpreted clauses of the Sixth Amendment and sees therein an erosion of the defendant's rights in criminal proceedings. The book argues that the Court's recent interpretations of the amendment have favored a "crime control" ideology and stressed efficiency in justice being served rather than the protection of the ideal of a fair trial. The six chapters address the rights to counsel, confrontation, compulsory process, a speedy trial, and a jury. The conflict between the rights of a free press and the individual defendant's rights to a trial free of prejudicial publicity is also analyzed.

Inaugurating Greenwood's Reference Guides to the United States Constitution series, this superlative guide to the Sixth Amendment is the first to survey the legal guarantee of counsel's assistance since 1963's Gideon ruling. The vast majority of important, even landmark cases regarding the right to counsel were decided after that pivotal ruling, making this the definitive work on the topic. Tomkovicz offers a concise yet substantial account of the historical development of the right to counsel in England and America.