Section 6.4 Right to Counsel

• Library: Criminal Practice 2012 Supp

D. (§6.4) Right to Counsel

The United States Supreme Court has stated that a preliminary examination is a “critical stage” in the criminal process; therefore, indigent defendants must have appointed counsel. Coleman v. Alabama, 399 U.S. 1 (1970). The initial appearance of the defendant and proceedings before a judge, after a previous ex parte probable cause determination and the defendant’s arrest, are provided for in Rule 22.08.

Advisement by the court of the nature of the charges and rights of the accused to counsel, retained or appointed, and to remain silent also takes place at this time. The right to counsel in preliminary proceedings is further discussed in State v. Barnard, 820 S.W.2d 674 (Mo. App. W.D. 1991). The right to counsel, however, is not an unbridled right in regard to what counsel can do at a preliminary hearing. While a...