6th Amendment Simplified

6th Amendment Rights

The 6th Amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791 as part of the Bill of Rights. The 6th Amendment concerns the rights of anyone accused of a criminal offense.

What 4 rights are citizens granted in the 6th Amendment?

There are four main rights that citizens are granted as part of the 6th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

It states that any accused person has the right to a lawyer to act on their behalf, has the right to an early trial, and the right that the trial should be held in public with a jury and witnesses.

6th Amendment Right to an Impartial Jury

The 6th Amendment states that the jury should be impartial. The accused must also be informed of the nature of the charges against them and the identity of who is pressing charges.

6th Amendment Right to Witnesses

The accused must also be able to bring witnesses who will speak in his favor to the court in a criminal trial.

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

There is an assumption under the Constitution of the United States that an accused person is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 

Get Smarter on US News, History, and the Constitution

Join the thousands of fellow patriots who rely on our 5-minute newsletter to stay informed on the key events and trends that shaped our nation's past and continue to shape its present.

Please leave this field empty

Email Address *

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

The 6th Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the rights of an accused person and states that they must be able to defend themselves properly.

6th Amendment Right to Due Process of the Law

No one can be arbitrarily found guilty of a crime and then punished. Instead, they must be allowed the due process of the law and the chance to prove themselves innocent.

6th Amendment Right of the Accused to Legal Counsel

The authors of the Sixth Amendment felt that the right to legal counsel was the most important of the rights given to an accused person. They even stated that the State should provide a public defender if the accused cannot afford counsel.

Once the accused has counsel to act on his behalf, the other rights become much easier to achieve.

The right to a jury trial soon after arrest supports the notion that the accused is innocent until proven guilty. 

The quicker that this can be done, the better it is for the accused, the accusers, and the reputation of the legal process.

Chain of Evidence

A speedy trial will ensure evidence will be less vulnerable to loss or damage. Also, witnesses will have events fresh in their minds, as will the accused. The result is a fairer trial.

Public trials are considered an important part of the judicial process. They make it less likely that judges or prosecutors can be corrupted or bribed. It leads to far more transparency.

In addition, witnesses may be less inclined to commit perjury if the public can scrutinize their potential lies. On the other hand, trials held behind closed doors can lead to suspicions regarding their fairness.

When a jury tries an accused person, that jury must be impartial. Juries in the United States comprise 12 citizens selected at random. 

The decision of the jury must be unanimous in federal court. However, jury trials held under state auspices do not have to be unanimous.

The defendant in a criminal trial has the Sixth Amendment right to cross-examine any witness called by the prosecution. They also have the right to bring witnesses to speak in their defense.

Principles of the 6th Amendment

The principle that an accused person is innocent until proven guilty is a basic human right and is enshrined in Amendment VI. 

This constitutional right in criminal proceedings is the backbone of a civilized society, and the Founding Fathers were acutely aware of their responsibility to ensure its inclusion in the Bill of Rights.