Turner-ing Over a New Leaf: Pre-Charge Plea Negotiations as a Critical Stage for the Purposes of the Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel

Abstract

On February 15, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel does not attach to pre-charge plea negotiations. In so doing, the Sixth Circuit upheld a bright-line rule that the right to counsel does not attach until formal charges have been filed. Two months later, on April 13, 2017, the Sixth Circuit vacated its opinion and granted a rehearing en banc. This Comment argues that pre-charge plea negotiations should be considered a critical stage for the purposes of the Sixth Amendment, and thus defendants should have a Sixth Amendment right to counsel at these points in the legal process.