The study of the US Constitution of 1787 and the Bill of Rights helps to study American judicial peculiarities in detail. An in-depth analysis makes it possible to trace the specifics of the formation of the political and legal system by a concrete example and to consider specific historical conditions as a source of law in a broad sense of this concept. In addition, these documents are interesting from the point of view of those principles of state structure and management that are laid in it since they, in their turn, influenced the constitutional experience of other countries.
Nevertheless, under the impact of the state elites and stakeholders, certain changes were made to the already adopted document. These alterations were called amendments, and one of the most significant of them, which was relevant to the specifics of the country’s legal proceedings, was the Sixth Amendment. Its adoption allowed achieving improvement of the state’s main document and establishing the order of the judicial system, which in many respects remained unchanged by this day.
Basic Principles of the Sixth Amendment
The Sixth Amendment, adopted in accordance with the need to improve the judicial system of the country, contains some general principles of proceedings. In particular, it is about the right of the accused to a speedy jury trial of the state and district where the crime was committed, publicity of the trial, and providence the accused with the main procedural rules. These constitutional principles formed the basis of the criminal process and were subjected to detailed regulation in the decisions of the US Supreme Court.
For almost two hundred and thirty-nine years, the provisions of this Amendment have been leading in the sentencing of the accused and are regarded as the fundamental principles of the judicial law. Any deviations from the terms of the Amendment imply a severe violation of the constitutional provisions.
Nevertheless, some researchers consider this amendment one of the mechanisms for manipulating power and using illegal working conditions. For example, Moore (2016) mentions the Sixth Amendment as an anti-democratic document and explains it by the fact that many vulnerable categories of the population do not have access to the provisions of the Amendment. In particular, the author mentions the right to a lawyer and argues that poor people cannot count on the protection of the state in case of problems with the law (Moore, 2016). Such statements are certainly quite bold; however, a certain amount of truth is present in these words. Therefore, it is required to consider the merits and demerits of this document in more detail.
Useful Points of the Sixth Amendment
The proceedings of the Amendment make it possible to use it as the primary document in defense of the accused and the conduct a certain trial in the state of the country in which the crime was committed. Also, according to the statements of the Amendment, each accused has the right to rely on the defense of a lawyer who is granted either on personal demand or appointed by official representatives. Hashimoto (2014) claims that the historical development of the judicial system predetermined the right to protection as an indispensable attribute of justice. In case the accused does not have the opportunity to pay for the services of a personal lawyer, the state provides an official defender who does not have the right to refuse this mission.
Moreover, the severity of a particular crime does not affect whether the defendant has the right to avail himself or herself of the services of protection or not. Even if the guilt looks like unquestionable, public lawyers are obliged to defend the interests of their wards. The possibility of unconditional protection is one of the main advantages of the Sixth Amendment in the context of American justice. Therefore, useful points of this document are rather evident and can be regarded as an attempt to change the judicial power for the better.
Controversial Points of the Amendment
Despite some indisputable merits that the Sixth Amendment brings to the judicial system of the United States, this document does not always have the right application and is sometimes ignored. For example, as Saetveit (2014) notes, judges neglect the mandatory rule of public courts and hold closed hearings, arguing that it is a special status of cases and thereby violating the legality of the Amendment. In this regard, a number of contradictions arise between supporters of compliance with all the conditions of the document and those who do not agree with its provisions. Such deviations lead to the fact that the transparency of the courts is lost, some trials look controversial, and the evidence of guilt is sometimes subjective enough.
Another controversial point that deserves particular attention is the non-permanent observance of the conditions for the compulsory provision of lawyers for defendants or insufficiently effective work of public defenders. According to Mayeux (2014), the incompetence of lawyers is a rather frequent phenomenon in the system, and state judges quite often use this factor. The fact is that defenders, showing negligence, sometimes help prosecutors, who can accuse this or that defendant of their profit.
Perhaps, many lawyers perform their duties indifferently not on purpose. Nevertheless, this indifference negatively affects the quality of services provided, and the effect of the document is not strong enough. Therefore, some controversial nuances of the Sixth Amendment deserve careful consideration and should be controlled at the state level.
Potential Important Changes
Depending on the quality of court cases, relevant documents can either support a high level of American justice or, conversely, worsen it. When it is about to the Sixth Amendment, certainly, it was designed solely to achieve the fairest and legitimate trials. However, according to the previously described controversial points, it is required to work to ensure that the right measures are taken to improve the implementation of the Amendment’s provisions and the possibility of monitoring its compliance in all courts without exception.
For instance, strict adherence to the paragraphs of the document concerning the full publicity of all court cases will allow excluding suspicions of judges in negligence and corruption and will make the justice system as open as possible. Mulroy (2016) remarks that correct understanding of the Amendment’s text will significantly improve the quality of court trials and will allow all defendants without exception to rely on qualified protection.
Compliance with the provisions of the Sixth Amendment will make it possible to provide services exclusively by professional lawyers, and the full legality of all the procedures will be respected. Moreover, compliance with legal requirements of the document will help to exclude a large number of appeals that are filed annually in the courts of the country. Therefore, some points can be improved to achieve optimal conditions for the sake of justice.
Conclusion
Thus, the adoption of the Sixth Amendment helped to improve the proceeding of the American Constitution and establish the order of the judicial system. Specific advantages and disadvantages can be identified when estimating the effectiveness of the document. Certain points can be improved for the sake of achieving the fairest legislation and correcting some of the mistakes that are made. The qualifications of lawyers should be determined by the competent authorities, and all the accused without exception should be able to count on protection from the state. In this case, the essential provisions of the Sixth Amendment will be met, and courts will not be accused of bias or corruption.
References
Hashimoto, E. J. (2014). An originalist argument for a Sixth Amendment right to competent counsel. Iowa Law Review, 99(5), 1999-2013.
Mayeux, S. (2014). Ineffective assistance of counsel before Powell v. Alabama: Lessons from history for the future of the right to counsel. Iowa Law Review, 99(5), 2161-2184.
Moore, J. (2016). The antidemocratic Sixth Amendment. Washington Law Review, 91(4), 1705-1767.
Mulroy, S. J. (2017). The bright line’s dark side: Pre-charge attachment of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Washington Law Review, 92(1), 213-252.
Saetveit, K. (2016). Close calls: defining courtroom closures under the Sixth Amendment. Stanford Law Review, 68(4), 897-932.