Discovery

Whether you’re new to indigent defense or have been steeped in the field for decades, understanding the right to counsel is difficult because the law is complex and evolves. Moreover, states try to actualize that law in many ways. Pick out a book from our shelf and flip it open to understand these concepts in an easily digestible format. Contact us with ideas for other books on topics you are interested in!

ABCs of the Sixth

Government policymakers want to know what the right to counsel means in practice. What does the U.S. constitution require about who gets a court-appointed lawyer when, and in what types of cases, in which courts (where), and why? These are the most common questions people ask us in our travels. Explore this deck of cards to find out!

Hows of the Sixth

How must government carry out its obligation of providing effective right to counsel services? Are there best practices for funding, overseeing, administering, and delivering the right to counsel? How are states currently doing it? Explore this deck of cards to find out!

History of the Sixth

Would you believe that America's first right to counsel statute in the books was over 350 years ago? Or that the first state to require the appointment and payment of attorneys in all criminal cases occurred nearly 90 years before Gideon v. Wainwright? Throughout history, no matter the state or era, the right to counsel has transcended partisan politics. It is only in knowing where the right to counsel comes from that we can protect it in the future.