1.21 - 7. The Right To Counsel At Trial

JurisdictionNew York

7. The Right to Counsel at Trial

The Sixth Amendment and the New York State Constitution, article I, § 6, guarantee a defendant’s right to the assistance of counsel at trial. They subsume the right to pro se representation.68 “[A] state may . . . deny a minimally-competent defendant’s request to proceed pro se based on a determination that, due to severe mental illness, he or she does not possess the competency for self-representation at trial.”69 That right is not absolute since competence to waive representation by counsel may not be the competence necessary for self-representation. Competence, like mental illness, varies in degree and can vary over time.70 After sufficient...

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