for Teachers for Schools for Enterprise
for Teachers for Schools for Enterprise
Course Navigator
What is the 8th Amendment? - Definition, Summary & CasesNext Lesson 

What is the 6th Amendment? - Definition, Summary & Court Cases

Chapter 11 /  Lesson 9   Transcript
Try it risk-free for 30 days

An error occurred trying to load this video.

Try refreshing the page, or contact customer support.

Coming up next: What is the 8th Amendment? - Definition, Summary & Cases

You're on a roll. Keep up the good work!

Take Quiz Watch Next Lesson
 Replay
Your next lesson will play in 10 seconds
  • 0:00 Definition of the 6th…
  • 1:21 Speedy and Public Trial
  • 2:36 An Impartial Jury
  • 3:37 Indictments, Right to…
  • 5:05 Lesson Summary
Add to Add to Add to

Want to watch this again later?

Log in or sign up to add this lesson to a Custom Course.

Login or Sign up

Timeline
Autoplay
Autoplay
Speed

Recommended Lessons and Courses for You

Lesson Transcript
Instructor: Stephen Benz

Stephen has taught history, journalism, sociology, and political science courses at multiple levels, including the middle school, high school and college levels.

In this lesson, we'll look at what the 6th Amendment states, how it has been interpreted, and famous court cases that have dealt with the 6th Amendment. We'll also examine the famous case that gave us Miranda rights.

Definition of the 6th Amendment

Imagine getting arrested for a crime you didn't commit. You are held indefinitely in prison without a trial because the prosecutor keeps delaying things in court. The trial is also being conducted secretly and behind closed doors. You don't know why you are being accused, and the witnesses testifying against you are all anonymous. You can't call your own witnesses, and you can't have a lawyer help you during all this. Does that sound fair?

Well, thanks to the 6th Amendment of the Constitution, you don't have to worry about these problems. The 6th Amendment, a part of the original Bill of Rights, grants individuals certain rights in the event of an arrest.

The 6th Amendment states:

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

In this lesson, we'll break down the various clauses and note how the Supreme Court has interpreted the clauses in different court cases.

Speedy and Public Trial

Because of the 6th Amendment, you have a right to a speedy and public trial. In Barker v. Wingo (1972), the Court ruled that a conviction can be overturned if the delay between arrest and trial is incredibly long. Although the time a prosecution can take to try an accused person varies by state, the general rule of thumb is that more than a year tends to be prejudicial against an accused. Also, if a court finds that a delay is due to the prosecution and not the defense, or that a delay negatively hurts the defendant's chances in any way, the defendant can have his or her conviction overturned. Very few convictions get overturned on this clause, however, because most of the time, the defendants ask for more time and not the prosecution.

Now let's talk about the public aspect to trials. The Court ruled in Sheppard v. Maxwell (1966) that a defendant's trial can become closed to the public if a defendant proves that a public trial would hurt his or her chances, or if a prosecutor can show that making the trial public would damage 'higher values' of a society. In all other cases, however, most trials have to be open to the public.

An Impartial Jury

According to the 6th Amendment, you have a right to be tried by an impartial jury. This only applies, however, to serious offenses that may result in jail time longer than six months. Minor offenses are usually tried before a judge.

To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account

Register to view this lesson

Are you a student or a teacher?

Unlock Your Education

See for yourself why 30 million people use Study.com

Become a Study.com member and start learning now.
Become a Member  Back
What teachers are saying about Study.com
Try it risk-free for 30 days
Description

Earning College Credit

Did you know… We have over 160 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level.

To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page

Transferring credit to the school of your choice

Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Study.com has thousands of articles about every imaginable degree, area of study and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you.

Research Schools, Degrees & Careers

Get the unbiased info you need to find the right school.

Browse Articles By Category

Browse an area of study or degree level.

Recommended Articles
You are viewing lesson Lesson 9 in chapter 11 of the course:

 Back To Course

Intro to Criminal Justice: Help and Review

14 chapters | 533 lessons

Ch 11. The Criminal Trial in the U.S. Justice...
Ch 12. The Sentencing Process in Criminal...

What is the 6th Amendment? - Definition, Summary & Court Cases Related Study Materials

Create an account to start this course today
Try it risk-free for 30 days!
Create An Account

Explore our library of over 75,000 lessons

Browse by subject
Support