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SCOTUS to Texas: Provide counsel earlier in process

Via SCOTUSBlog, the US Supreme Court today issued its ruling in Rothgery v. Gillespie County (see the opinion and the SCOTUSWiki on the case), in which the majority held that:A criminal defendant?s initial appearance before a magistrate judge, where he learns the charge against him and his liberty is subject to restriction, marks the initiation of adversary judicial proceedings that trigger attachment of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Attachment does not also require that a prosecutor (as distinct from a police officer) be aware of that initial proceeding or involved in its conduct. Pp. 5?20.(a) Texas?s article 15.17 hearing marks the point of attachment, with the consequent state obligation to appoint counsel within a reasonable time once a request for assistance is made...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on June 23, 2008 (boomark / email).