Constitution
Amendment 6: Criminal Trials: Speedy Trial, Jury, Confrontation and Counsel
Text from National Archives. Explanation last updated September 29, 2026. How we check this
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In plain English
The Sixth Amendment lists the rights of a person accused of a crime: a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury, notice of the charges, the right to confront the witnesses against them, the power to compel favorable witnesses to appear, and the assistance of counsel.
In Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) the Supreme Court held that a state must provide a lawyer to a defendant in a serious criminal case who cannot afford one.
The text
As printed by the source cited at the end of this page, with its original spelling, capitalization and punctuation.
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.
Explained section by section
Speedy and public trial
Trials must not be indefinitely delayed and must be open to the public. Public trials guard against secret proceedings, and the speedy-trial right protects an accused person from lingering in jail or under a cloud of accusation.
Impartial jury of the State and district
The jury must be impartial and, in the original text, drawn from the state and district where the crime was committed. Selection practices are regulated so that juries represent a fair cross-section of the community and do not exclude people on illegitimate grounds.
Notice of the accusation
A defendant has the right “to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation”. Without clear notice, a person cannot prepare a defense.
Confrontation and compulsory process
The accused may confront the witnesses against them and may use the court’s power to obtain witnesses in their own favor. The confrontation clause is why testimony generally must be given in the defendant’s presence and subject to cross-examination.
Assistance of counsel
The text guarantees “the Assistance of Counsel for his defence”. It was long read to mean only that the accused could hire a lawyer. Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) held that a state must appoint one for felony defendants who cannot pay, and later decisions extended the rule to any case in which the defendant is actually sentenced to imprisonment.
Context and current status
The amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791. It responds to abuses the colonists had experienced, including trials in distant courts without local juries. It applies in criminal prosecutions only; civil jury trials are addressed in the Seventh Amendment.
Current textual status: unchanged and in force. The Supreme Court has applied its main guarantees to state courts through the Fourteenth Amendment, so they bind local prosecutions as well as federal ones.
Terms to know
- Impartial jury
- A jury whose members can decide the case fairly, without bias for or against a party.
- Confrontation
- The right to face and cross-examine witnesses who testify against you.
- Compulsory process
- The power to require witnesses to appear and testify for the defense.
- Counsel
- A lawyer.
Common misconceptions
“The Sixth Amendment applies to all lawsuits.”
It applies to “criminal prosecutions.” Civil cases involve different rules, including the Seventh Amendment’s jury-trial right.
How it connects
Links to related provisions and documents, with the reason each one matters here.
- Amendment 5Grand Juries, Double Jeopardy, Self-Incrimination, Due Process and TakingsTogether, the Fifth and Sixth Amendments cover what happens before and during a criminal trial.
- Article IIIArticle III of the United States ConstitutionArticle III, Section 2 already says that trials for crimes shall be by jury, and the Sixth Amendment adds the specific rights of the accused.
- Amendment 14Citizenship, Due Process and Equal ProtectionGideon applied the right to counsel to states through the Fourteenth Amendment.
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Sources and corrections
- Text: National Archives. Checked against the source on September 29, 2026.National Archives transcription of the engrossed Constitution, with original spelling and capitalization. The signature block and the Convention's interlineation note are not reproduced.
- The Bill of Rights: A Transcription — National Archives
- The Interactive Constitution: Sixth Amendment — National Constitution Center
Educational material, not legal advice. Spotted a mistake? Tell us; corrections change this page’s update date.