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Sixth Amendment

Grand Teton National Park | National Park Service

Overcriminalization

A Runner Was Prosecuted for Unapproved Trail Use After the Referring Agency Called It 'Overcriminalization'

The case against Michelino Sunseri exemplifies the injustice caused by the proliferation of regulatory crimes—the target of a recent presidential order.

Jacob Sullum | 6.6.2025 2:50 PM

President Donald Trump delivers remarks at a podium in the Oval Office | Sipa USA/Newscom

First Amendment

A Federal Judge Lists 8 Ways That Trump Violated the Constitution by Punishing a Disfavored Law Firm

The president's crusade against attorneys whose work offends him, which defies the First Amendment and undermines the right to counsel, has provoked several judicial rebukes.

Jacob Sullum | 5.28.2025 3:15 PM

President Donalfd Trump talks to reporters on the North Lawn of the White House | Samuel Corum/Pool via CNP/Picture Alliance/Consolidated News Photos/Newscom

First Amendment

By Openly Retaliating Against Disfavored Law Firms, Trump Attacks Free Speech and the Right to Counsel

Two of his targets are seeking permanent injunctions against the president's blatantly unconstitutional executive orders.

Jacob Sullum | 4.23.2025 4:40 PM

Supreme Court

Justices Alito and Gorsuch Would Like to Reconsider Crawford

Two decisions respecting a denial of certiorari suggest the Court should reconstruct Confrontation Clause jurisprudence.

Jonathan H. Adler |The Volokh Conspiracy | 3.24.2025 9:54 AM

Hunter Biden at the White House | Pool/ABACA/Newscom

Clemency

The President Still Has Time To Show His Mercy Extends Beyond His Own Son

The draconian penalties that Hunter Biden escaped affect many people whose fathers cannot save them.

Jacob Sullum | 12.4.2024 12:01 AM

Hunter Biden walks next to a woman | Saquan Stimpson/CNP for NY Post/Mega/RSSIL/Newscom

Joe Biden

Hunter Biden's Pardon Features Several Shades of Hypocrisy, Including the Gun Policy Implications

Joe Biden says his son did not deserve prison for violating firearm laws that the president vigorously defends and has made more severe.

Jacob Sullum | 12.2.2024 5:20 PM

A single prisoner in an orange jumpsuit lies on a cot in a prison cell. | Ilya Ginzburg | Dreamstime.com

Sixth Amendment

Iowa Supreme Court is Considering if the State Can Charge Acquitted Defendants for Court-Appointed Attorneys

Iowa has one of the most aggressive court systems in the country when it comes to billing defendants for court-appointed attorneys, even in cases where they're acquitted or charges are dropped.

C.J. Ciaramella | 10.25.2024 11:08 AM

A firearm, a jury box, and the Supreme Court | Illustration: Lex Villena; Adam Parent,  Martin33

Criminal Justice

The Supreme Court Again Strengthens the Right to a Jury Trial in Criminal Sentencing

Paul Erlinger was sentenced to 15 years in prison based largely on a determination made by a judge—not a jury.

Billy Binion | 6.21.2024 5:12 PM

an empty jury box | Photo 77896399 © Larry Gevert | Dreamstime.com

Courts

New York and New Jersey Want To Let Felons Serve on Juries. Here's Why.

Bans have resulted in what some have called the "whitewashing" of American juries.

Patrick McDonald | 6.3.2024 3:30 PM

A jury box is seen next to Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch's dissent in Cunningham v. Florida | Photo 126903992 © Wisconsinart | Dreamstime.com; U.S. Supreme Court

Criminal Justice

'An Embarrassing Mistake': Neil Gorsuch Rails Into Florida's Use of 6-Person Juries

The Sixth Amendment was originally seen as vital to preserving liberty. Yet it has been consistently watered down.

Billy Binion | 5.28.2024 5:04 PM

judgevaxx_1161x653 | Illustration: Lex Villena; Wisconsinart / Dreamstime.com

Criminal Justice

Sentencing Commission Again Proposes Restricting Judges' Use of Acquitted Conduct

Judges can sentence defendants for charges they were acquitted of by a jury, a practice that troubles criminal justice advocates, civil liberties groups, and several Supreme Court justices.

C.J. Ciaramella | 12.20.2023 12:50 PM

Hunter Biden | Pool/Zuma Press/Newscom

Criminal Justice

Hunter Biden's Multiplying Charges Exemplify a Profound Threat to Trial by Jury

Prosecutors have enormous power to coerce guilty pleas, which are the basis for nearly all convictions.

Jacob Sullum | 12.13.2023 12:01 AM

Hunter Biden | Elder Ordonez/SplashNews/Newscom

Second Amendment

Hunter Biden's Multiplying Gun Charges Threaten the Right to Arms and the Right to Trial

The collapse of his plea deal set up a clash with his father, who doggedly defends the firearm regulations his son violated.

Jacob Sullum | 9.18.2023 3:29 PM

Sidney Powell says trying her together with Kenneth Chesebro will impair her defense. | Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Newscom

Criminal Justice

Joint Trial of Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro Illustrates the Fuzziness of Georgia's RICO Law

The two alleged racketeers complain that irrelevant evidence concerning distinct, uncoordinated conduct aimed at keeping Donald Trump in office will impair their defense.

Jacob Sullum | 9.8.2023 4:15 PM

Maurice Jimmerson | Atlanta News First

Criminal Justice

He Spent 10 Years Behind Bars Without Being Convicted. He'll Have To Wait Longer To Have the Case Resolved.

Maurice Jimmerson finally got a trial after a decade of pretrial detention. It ended in a hung jury.

Emma Camp | 7.26.2023 4:30 PM

Maurice Jimmerson | Atlanta News First

Civil Liberties

He Spent a Decade in Jail Without Being Convicted. Now His Lawyer Says His Case Should Be Dismissed.

Maurice Jimmerson has spent 10 years in jail awaiting trial for a 2013 murder charge.

Emma Camp | 6.2.2023 4:44 PM

gavel | Everythingpossible / Dreamstime.com

Criminal Justice

Sentencing Commission Proposes Restricting Judges' Use of Acquitted Conduct

It may sound bizarre, but yes, you can be punished at sentencing for an offense you were acquitted of by a jury.

C.J. Ciaramella | 1.17.2023 2:49 PM

Jury box | Larry Gevert | Dreamstime.com

Criminal Justice

Oregon Supreme Court Orders New Trials for Hundreds Convicted by Split Juries

Oregon was one of only two states that allowed for non-unanimous guilty verdicts until the Supreme Court outlawed them in 2020.

C.J. Ciaramella | 1.3.2023 2:46 PM

A former guidance counselor was wrongly convicted of sexual abuse thanks to an incompetent public defender. | Rui Vale De Sousa/Dreamstime.com

Sex Crimes

An Iowa Jury Awards $12 Million in Damages to a Man Who Was Wrongly Imprisoned for Sexual Abuse

A former guidance counselor served six years of a 25-year sentence thanks to a public defender's incompetence.

Jacob Sullum | 9.30.2022 4:05 PM

Criminal Justice

The Constitutional Right to Confront Witnesses Against You, When They've Been Exposed to COVID

Eugene Volokh |The Volokh Conspiracy | 9.13.2022 2:06 PM

courtroom jury box | Illustration: Lex Villena; Wisconsinart

Criminal Justice

The Founders Loved Jury Trials. Almost No One Gets One Anymore.

John Adams called jury trials part of the "heart and lungs of liberty." Today, defendants are often punished for exercising that very right.

Billy Binion | 7.4.2022 9:00 AM

Ted-Cruz-12-8-20-Newscom | CNP/AdMedia/Sipa/Newscom

Criminal Justice

Ted Cruz Hates Due Process

By smearing public defenders, the Texas senator shows what he thinks of constitutional rights.

C.J. Ciaramella | 4.5.2022 4:06 PM

Screen Shot 2022-02-17 at 5.00.57 PM | Youtube/WREG

Criminal Justice

Pamela Moses 'Requested a Jury Trial.' So She Got 6 Years in Prison.

Shelby County District Attorney Amy Weirich said Moses would be a free woman—if she hadn't insisted on exercising her constitutional right to trial.

Billy Binion | 2.17.2022 5:20 PM

zumaglobalten570717 | Douglas Christian/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom

Criminal Justice

Don't Punish the QAnon Shaman—or Anyone—for Demanding a Jury Trial

Coercive plea deals trample on defendants' Sixth Amendment rights.

Billy Binion | 11.18.2021 4:16 PM

dreamstime_xxl_142366194 | Photo 142366194 © Chernetskaya | Dreamstime.com

Criminal Justice

The Varsity Blues Trial Is a Reminder of Our Corrupt Criminal Justice System

Plead guilty and get "punishments ranging from probation to nine months in prison." Insist on a trial and face decades in prison.

Ira Stoll | 10.11.2021 5:10 PM

CaliforniaFlag3 | California

Criminal Justice

California Governor Proposes Millions in Public Defender Funding To Settle Sixth Amendment Lawsuit

The ACLU argues the lack of state funding and oversight creates an unconstitutional lack of access to legal counsel in poorer California counties.

C.J. Ciaramella | 1.10.2020 4:36 PM

Volokh Conspiracy

Impeachment and the Sixth Amendment

No, President Trump cannot invoke his Sixth Amendment rights in connection with House impeachment proceedings

David Post |The Volokh Conspiracy | 11.12.2019 12:37 PM

randpaul_1161x653 | Jeff Malet Photography/Newscom

Impeachment

Rand Paul Proposes Expanding Whistleblower Protections While Publicly Exposing Whistleblowers

Yes, Trump (and everybody else) has a right to face their accusers when they’re charged with crimes. But that hasn’t actually happened.

Scott Shackford | 11.7.2019 1:50 PM

loughlin_1161x653 | MATTHEW HEALEY/UPI/Newscom

Sixth Amendment

Federal Prosecutors Are Punishing Actor Lori Loughlin for Exercising Her Right To Defend Herself

Plea deals aren’t about mercy these days. They’re about intimidating defendants into giving up the right to a trial.

Scott Shackford | 10.24.2019 3:30 PM

polspphotos526632 | Polaris/Newscom

Supreme Court

SCOTUS Debates Whether the Right to Trial by Jury Should Mean the Same Thing in State and Federal Court

Understanding what’s at stake in Ramos v. Louisiana.

Damon Root | 10.9.2019 11:40 AM

Large image on homepages | JIM YOUNG/REUTERS/Newscom

Neil Gorsuch

Gorsuch and Sotomayor Join Forces in Defense of Sixth Amendment Rights

It's not the first time the two justices have teamed up on a criminal justice case.

Joe Setyon | 1.7.2019 3:05 PM

Large image on homepages | Designer491 / Dreamstime.com

New York

New York's Top Court Rules Immigrants Are Entitled to Jury Trials for Crimes that May Lead to Deportation

Many face getting tossed out of the country for minor crimes. This ruling could result in big changes.

Scott Shackford | 11.28.2018 2:00 PM

Large image on homepages

Silk Road

Ross Ulbricht Files Appeal to the Supreme Court on His Life Sentence Without Parole

Silk Road founder's appeal stresses the dangerous Fourth and Sixth Amendment implications of his prosecution and sentencing.

Brian Doherty | 12.27.2017 3:42 PM

Large image on homepages | Hin255/Dreamstime

Brickbats

Brickbats: The Wheels of Justice

Charles Oliver | 11.22.2017 4:00 AM

Large image on homepages | David Pulliam/MCT/Newscom

Criminal Justice

ACLU Sues Nevada Over Inadequate Public Defender System

Rural Nevada counties use overworked contract attorneys as public defenders, leaving poor defendants at a huge disadvantage, the ACLU says.

C.J. Ciaramella | 11.2.2017 3:00 PM

Large image on homepages

Sixth Amendment

ACLU Sues Louisiana Parish for Alleged Bail Extortion Scheme

A civil rights lawsuit says a state judge and a private company are effectively holding defendants for ransom.

C.J. Ciaramella | 8.8.2017 1:00 PM

Large image on homepages

Reasontv

Rand Paul on Blocking Indefinite Detention and Saudi Arms Sales

The Kentucky senator laments that "there's very little of this attorney general, this Department of Justice, doing anything favorable towards criminal justice or towards civil liberties"

Todd Krainin and Matt Welch | 6.9.2017 11:14 AM

Large image on homepages | Wavebreakmediamicro/Dreamstime.com

Civil Liberties

The Disappearing Sixth Amendment

In many parts of the U.S., those who can't afford a lawyer must wait months to meet with public defenders.

C.J. Ciaramella | 5.7.2017 6:00 AM

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