Sixth Amendment

In opinion with 26 exclamation points, judge finds order against WilmerHale is ‘staggering punishment’

An executive order with a “kitchen sink of severe sanctions” against Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr is unconstitutional, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled Tuesday.

May 28, 2025 10:32 AM CDT

Executive order against Jenner & Block is ‘doubly violative of the Constitution,’ judge says in ruling for firm

President Donald Trump’s executive order against Jenner & Block violates the First Amendment by punishing the law firm for its causes and clients and by chilling legal representation, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., ruled Friday.

May 27, 2025 11:50 AM CDT

‘Let’s kill the lawyers I don’t like’ is Shakespearean approach of Trump order against Perkins Coie, judge says

A federal judge has granted a permanent injunction barring the Trump administration from enforcing a punitive executive order against Perkins Coie.

May 5, 2025 10:38 AM CDT

Supreme Court will consider scope of Sixth Amendment right to counsel during trial recess

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a criminal defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel was violated when a judge banned him from discussing his ongoing testimony when meeting with his lawyers during an overnight trial recess.

Apr 15, 2025 2:37 PM CDT

House committee drops information request about law clinics amid ‘ongoing negotiations’ with Northwestern

The U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Education and Workforce has withdrawn its request for information on law clinics at the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law, citing "ongoing negotiations" with the university and an intent to pursue "other means of inquiry."

Apr 14, 2025 10:59 AM CDT

Poker-playing SCOTUSblog founder has net worth of negative $3.3M, criminal court document says

SCOTUSblog founder Tom Goldstein

Feb 6, 2025 3:21 PM CST

Should defendants without court-appointed lawyers be released? Should charges be dropped? Judge weighs remedies

A Maine judge is considering how to remedy the state’s failure to provide lawyers to indigent defendants on a timely basis.

Jan 27, 2025 3:06 PM CST

Despite lyrics mistake by AI, lawyer wasn’t ineffective for using tech in rapper’s case, federal judge says

A federal judge has refused to grant a new trial in a case of a rapper convicted for using straw donors in a back-channel lobbying campaign, despite evidence of a mistake by an artificial intelligence program used to help draft closing arguments.

Sep 3, 2024 12:09 PM CDT

Judge who cut bail for man linked to later fatal arson had cited his right to counsel

Updated: A judge in Maine is being blamed for reducing bail for a man who was later shot and killed in a standoff with police on Saturday after he allegedly set a fire that killed a person.

Jun 17, 2024 3:31 PM CDT

Citing ‘Sixth Amendment nightmare,’ 9th Circuit allows pretrial release of defendants without lawyers

A federal appeals court upheld an injunction Friday that requires Oregon to release pretrial defendants from custody if they have not received a lawyer within seven days.

Jun 4, 2024 2:06 PM CDT

Judiciary ‘has no power to unimpeach,’ federal judge says while citing Dr. Seuss

A federal judge has tossed former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s pro se lawsuit seeking the right to run for political office, despite his impeachment and conviction, saying the complaint is “riddled with problems” and is an “Issue-Spotting Wonderland.”

Mar 26, 2024 8:57 AM CDT

Only 1 out of 5 defendants in this Mississippi county get court-appointed lawyers before indictment

The right to counsel is “tenuous” in a small Mississippi justice court in Yalobusha County, Mississippi, where two judges appointed lawyers for felony defendants in only 20% of the cases opened in 2022, according to an investigative report.

Feb 27, 2024 8:22 AM CST

Face masks at trial didn’t violate confrontation right of officer accused of bathroom assault, 4th Circuit rules

The Sixth Amendment right to confrontation wasn’t violated when a judge required witnesses to wear face masks in the trial of a former Logan, West Virginia, police officer accused of violating the civil rights of a public intoxication arrestee, a federal appeals court has ruled.

Jan 16, 2024 3:40 PM CST

Defendant with sleeping lawyer entitled to new trial, ‘emerging adults’ entitled to parole possibility, top state court rules

A murder defendant whose lawyer slept during parts of the trial was denied his right to counsel under the state constitution, entitling him to a new trial, the top court in Massachusetts has ruled.

Jan 16, 2024 1:21 PM CST

Did Trump lawyers flub by failing to request jury trial in civil fraud case?

Former President Donald Trump has told reporters that it was “very unfair” that he didn’t have a jury trial in the civil fraud case alleging that he inflated the value of his properties in statements to insurers and banks.

Oct 4, 2023 10:36 AM CDT