Abstract
In this work, I examine the Sixth Amendment right to counsel and its role in the access to justice crisis. The right to counsel has long been under-examined and limited by Supreme Court jurisprudence, resulting in a right that is only accessible to a select few in a limited number of circumstances (e.g, only in criminal cases, as there is no civil right to counsel). The under-interpretation of the right to counsel has exacerbated the present crisis of representation, a core part of the access to justice crisis, by preventing relief in the form of appointed counsel from being extended to those who face insurmountable barriers to achieving justice. I propose a theoretical reformulation of the right to counsel and argue that in order to achieve a right to counsel that is universally accessible, it is necessary that counsel be interpreted as a public good, available for those who face obstacles that effect their ability to retain qualified counsel. With this reinterpretation, it becomes possible to re-ensure the legitimacy of the justice system and make progress towards improving accessibility to justice.
Advisor
Weber, Désirée
Department
Political Science
Recommended Citation
Evans, Elyse, "Accessing the Right to Counsel: A Theoretical Study of the Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel and Restricted Access to Justice in the United States" (2021). Senior Independent Study Theses. Paper 11729.
https://openworks.wooster.edu/independentstudy/11729
Disciplines
Civil Procedure | Civil Rights and Discrimination | Constitutional Law | Courts | Criminal Law | Criminal Procedure | Jurisprudence
Keywords
Sixth Amendment, right to counsel, access to justice, access to representation
Publication Date
2021
Degree Granted
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type
Senior Independent Study Thesis
© Copyright 2021 Elyse Evans