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SCOTUS: Right to counsel attaches at the first appearance

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

SCOTUS today: Right to counsel attaches at the first appearance, and the right is clearly established. Rothgery v. Gillespie County, 07-440, 2008 WL 2484864 (U.S. June 23, 2008). From the Court's Syllabus: Texas police relied on erroneous information that petitioner Rothgery had a previous felony conviction to arrest him as a felon in possession of a firearm. The officers brought Rothgery before a magistrate judge, as required by state law, for a so-called “article 15.17 hearing,” at which the Fourth Amendment probable-cause determination was made, bail was set, and Rothgery was formally apprised of the accusation against him. After the hearing, the magistrate judge committed Rothgery to jail, and he was released after posting a surety bond...continue to full post

Full post as published by Law Of Criminal Defense on June 23, 2008 (boomark / email).