U.S. Constitution · Amendment VI · ratified 1791-12-15

Rights of the Accused in Criminal Prosecutions

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Also known as: Speedy Trial Clause · Public Trial Clause · Impartial Jury Clause · Notice Clause · Confrontation Clause · Compulsory Process Clause · Assistance of Counsel Clause

The Sixth Amendment guarantees rights of criminal defendants, including a speedy and public trial, an impartial jury, notice of charges, confrontation of witnesses, compulsory process for defense witnesses, and assistance of counsel.

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Cited in 43 grades this month.

88 public items cite this provision · 43 in October 2026 (last month: 6)

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The text

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.

National Archives transcription (public domain; original spelling and capitalization). archives.gov

SI explainer

What it means

The Sixth Amendment protects people accused of crimes. It says that in all criminal prosecutions, the accused has the right to a speedy and public trial. A speedy trial means the government cannot delay the trial for too long, which prevents indefinite detention and ensures evidence remains fresh. A public trial means the courtroom is open to observers, which helps prevent secret or unfair proceedings. The trial must be by an impartial jury from the state and district where the crime happened, and that district must have been set by law beforehand. This ensures the jury comes from the same community as the alleged crime. The amendment also gives the accused the right to be told the nature and cause of the accusation, meaning the government must explain the specific charges. The accused has the right to confront witnesses against him, which means the defendant can cross-examine those who testify. The accused can also use compulsory process to force witnesses to come to court and testify in his favor. Finally, the accused has the right to the assistance of counsel, meaning a lawyer, for his defense. The Supreme Court has applied most of these rights to state criminal trials through the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause, as in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) for the right to counsel and Duncan v. Louisiana (1968) for the right to jury trial in serious cases.

Original meaning

The generation that wrote and ratified the Sixth Amendment valued trial by jury as a fundamental safeguard against government oppression. Alexander Hamilton wrote in The Federalist No. 83 that both supporters and opponents of the Constitution 'concur at least in the value they set upon the trial by jury,' with supporters viewing it as 'a valuable safeguard to liberty' and opponents calling it 'the very palladium of free government.' The amendment's provisions responded to specific grievances about the original Constitution's lack of explicit protections for criminal defendants. Abraham Holmes, speaking at the Massachusetts ratifying convention in 1788, objected that the Constitution did not guarantee a trial 'in the vicinity where the fact was committed' so that a jury could judge the character and credibility of witnesses. He also complained that there was no provision preventing the attorney general from filing charges without a grand jury indictment. James Madison's proposed amendment in the House of Representatives in 1789 closely tracked the final version, guaranteeing a speedy and public trial, notice of the accusation, confrontation with accusers and witnesses, compulsory process for defense witnesses, and assistance of counsel. The framers understood these rights as protections against the kind of arbitrary prosecutions they had experienced under British rule. The right to counsel was originally limited to the right to hire a lawyer, not a right to free appointed counsel, as the Supreme Court later interpreted in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963). The confrontation clause was rooted in the common law right to face one's accusers, which the Court in Crawford v. Washington (2004) later held requires cross-examination of testimonial witnesses.
  • “The friends and adversaries of the plan of the convention, if they agree in nothing else, concur at least in the value they set upon the trial by jury; or if there is any difference between them it consists in this: the former regard it as a valuable safeguard to liberty; the latter represent it as the very palladium of free government.” Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist No. 83 (1788-05-28)
  • “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, to be informed of the cause and nature of the accusation, to be confronted with his accusers, and the witnesses against him; to have a compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor; and to have the assistance of counsel for his defence.” James Madison, James Madison, Speech Proposing Amendments, House of Representatives, June 8, 1789 (Annals of Congress 1:448-60) (1789-06-08)
  • “Does the Constitution make provision for such a trial? I think not; for in a criminal process, a person shall not have a right to insist on a trial in the vicinity where the fact was committed, where a jury of the peers would, from their local situation, have an opportunity to form a judgment of the character of the person charged with the crime, and also to judge of the credibility of the witnesses.” Abraham Holmes, Debate in the Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, January 30, 1788 (Elliot 2:109-14) (1788-01-30)
  • “These circumstances, as horrid as they are, are rendered still more dark and gloomy, as there is no provision made in the Constitution to prevent the attorney-general from filing information against any person, whether he is indicted by the grand jury or not;” Abraham Holmes, Debate in the Massachusetts Ratifying Convention, January 30, 1788 (Elliot 2:109-14) (1788-01-30)

How the Supreme Court has read it

  1. Ex parte Milligan, 71 U.S. 2 (1866)

    Ex parte Milligan (1866) held that a civilian could not be tried by military commission in a state where civilian courts were open and functioning, even during the Civil War, reinforcing the right to a civilian trial under the Sixth Amendment.

  2. Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45 (1932)

    Powell v. Alabama (1932) held that the failure to provide effective appointment of counsel to the 'Scottsboro boys' in a capital case violated due process, establishing a limited right to appointed counsel in capital cases under the Fourteenth Amendment.

  3. Ex parte Quirin, 317 U.S. 1 (1942)

    Ex parte Quirin (1942) upheld the trial of Nazi saboteurs, including one claimed U.S. citizen, by military commission for violations of the law of war, limiting the Sixth Amendment's application to military tribunals.

  4. Reid v. Covert, 354 U.S. 1 (1957)

    Reid v. Covert (1957) held that civilian dependents of servicemembers abroad could not be tried by court-martial for capital offenses in peacetime, and the plurality stated that treaties and executive agreements cannot override constitutional protections like the Sixth Amendment.

  5. Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963)

    Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) held that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment and requires appointment of counsel for indigent felony defendants, overruling an earlier precedent.

  6. Duncan v. Louisiana, 391 U.S. 145 (1968)

    Duncan v. Louisiana (1968) held that the Sixth Amendment right to jury trial in serious criminal cases applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment.

  7. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984)

    Strickland v. Washington (1984) set the standard for ineffective assistance of counsel claims under the Sixth Amendment: the defendant must show deficient performance by counsel and resulting prejudice.

  8. Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004)

    Crawford v. Washington (2004) held that testimonial statements of absent witnesses are admissible only if the witness is unavailable and the defendant had a prior opportunity for cross-examination, abandoning the reliability framework of an earlier precedent. Justice Scalia's majority relied on the historical meaning of the confrontation right at the founding.

Two schools of interpretation

Originalist / textualist reading

Originalists and textualists read the Sixth Amendment according to its original public meaning at the time of ratification in 1791. They emphasize that the text grants specific procedural rights to 'the accused' in 'criminal prosecutions,' and these rights should be interpreted as they were understood by the founding generation. For example, the Confrontation Clause, as interpreted in Crawford v. Washington (2004), requires that testimonial hearsay be excluded unless the witness is unavailable and the defendant had a prior opportunity for cross-examination, because that was the common law right at the founding. Originalists argue that the right to counsel originally meant the right to hire a lawyer, not a right to free appointed counsel, though they accept Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) as settled precedent incorporating that right against the states. They also stress that the jury trial right applies only to 'serious' offenses, as historically defined, and that the speedy trial right requires a case-by-case assessment based on founding-era practices. Originalists resist expanding these rights beyond their historical scope, such as applying the jury right to all petty offenses or requiring appointed counsel for minor crimes.

Living-constitutionalist reading

Living constitutionalists and pragmatists read the Sixth Amendment as a dynamic guarantee that must adapt to modern circumstances to protect the rights of the accused effectively. They emphasize that the amendment's broad language—such as 'speedy,' 'public,' 'impartial,' and 'assistance of counsel'—allows for evolving interpretations to meet contemporary standards of fairness. For example, they support the incorporation of the right to counsel against the states in Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) as necessary for a fair trial, even though the founders did not envision free appointed counsel. They also argue that the Confrontation Clause should be flexible enough to admit reliable hearsay when the declarant is unavailable, as the pre-Crawford framework allowed, to prevent guilty defendants from escaping justice. Living constitutionalists view the jury trial right as applying broadly to any offense carrying potential imprisonment, and they support robust protections for defendants in areas like ineffective assistance of counsel under Strickland v. Washington (1984). They see the Sixth Amendment as a living instrument that must keep pace with changes in the criminal justice system, such as mass incarceration and complex forensic evidence, to ensure that the accused receive a fair trial in practice.

Open questions

The scope of the right to a speedy trial remains unsettled in terms of the precise length of delay that triggers a violation. The application of the Confrontation Clause to forensic evidence, such as lab reports, is still evolving after Crawford v. Washington (2004). Whether the right to counsel extends to all stages of a criminal proceeding, including initial bail hearings and certain post-conviction proceedings, is not fully resolved.

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Values for America Constitution Explorer, https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution (text: National Archives transcription, public domain), Amendment VI, https://www.valuesforamerica.com/constitution/amendment-6

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