×
You've used up your 3 free articles for this month. Subscribe today.
SCOTUS: Sixth Amendment Right to Autonomy — Attorney Cannot Overrule Client’s Decision to Assert Innocence at Trial
Loaded on June 18, 2018
by Richard Resch
by Richard Resch
On May 14, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) issued a major decision affirming criminal defendants’ Sixth Amendment right to assert their innocence at trial. The Court determined that Robert McCoy’s “right to autonomy” had been violated when his attorney conceded his …
Full article and associated cases available to subscribers.
As a digital subscriber to Criminal Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.
Already a subscriber? Login
More from Richard Resch:
- Surveillance for Sale: The Data Broker Loophole and the Fourth Amendment After Chatrie, July 1, 2026
- Retroactive Guideline Amendments: The Narrow Path to a Federal Sentence Reduction, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Announces Accessing Google Location History Data Constitutes a Fourth Amendment Search, Holding That Neither Brief Duration Nor Third-Party Storage Negates Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Cellphone Location Information, July 1, 2026
- Your DNA Was at the Scene, But You Weren’t: How Touch DNA Is Convicting the Innocent, June 1, 2026
- U.S. Sentencing Commission: 2026 Amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, June 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Announces Sentencing Disparities Created by Nonretroactive Statutory Amendments Cannot Constitute Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons for Compassionate Release, June 1, 2026
- Beyond Geofence Warrants: Chatrie, Reverse-Location Surveillance, and the Fourth Amendment Fight Over Digital Dragnets, May 1, 2026
- Six Years of the First Step Act: Federal Prison Data Reveal Treatment Gains, Persistent Disparities, and Unanswered Questions, April 1, 2026
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Mandatory Life Without Parole for Felony Murder Unconstitutional Under State Constitution, Holding Article I, Section 13 Provides Broader Protections Than Eighth Amendment, April 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Unanimously Announces Heck Does Not Bar §1983 Suits Seeking Purely Prospective Relief, Resolving Circuit Split Over Whether a Prior Conviction Precludes a Forward-Looking Constitutional Challenge to the Statute of Conviction, April 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- South Carolina Supreme Court Announces Formal Adoption of Fourth Circuit’s Three-Step Cheek Framework for Evaluating Improper Third-Party Contacts With Jurors Under Remmer, Reverses Murdaugh Murder Convictions, and Overrules Ethier Regarding Juror Testim, July 1, 2026. Sixth Amendment, New Trial/Judgment of Acquittal, Impartial Jury, Jury Deliberations, Juror Misconduct Issues.
- California Court of Appeal Announces Defendants Who Exercise Right to Jury Trial on Aggravating Circumstances Are Entitled to Closing Argument by Counsel on Those Factors, July 1, 2026. Sixth Amendment, Counsel - Constructive denial of, Possession or Use of Firearms, Sentences - Adjustments and Departures, Grounds for Relief.
- California Supreme Court Announces Amended § 1170(b) Applies Retroactively to Plea-Bargained Upper Term Sentences, July 1, 2026. Retroactivity, Sixth Amendment, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Grounds For Withdrawal, Validity of.
- Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Holds Grand Jury No-Bill Terminated Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel, Clarifies Frye Exception, May 1, 2026. Sixth Amendment, Confessions - Admissibility, After Request for Counsel, Police Interrogations, Voluntary Nature/Voluntariness.
- Montana Supreme Court Holds Defendant’s Sentence Must Be Vacated Where District Court Premised Sentence on Defendant’s Exercise of Constitutional Rights to Jury Trial, Silence, and Against Self-Incrimination, April 1, 2026. Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment, Self-Incrimination Clause, Right to Testify/Remain Silent, Acceptance of Responsibility.
- Acquitted Conduct Sentencing: Not Guilty – But Punished Anyway, March 1, 2026. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Federal Legislation, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Amendment, Acquitted Conduct/Uncharged Crimes/Dismissed Counts.
- Delaware Supreme Court Announces Trial Courts Must First Resolve Defense Counsel’s Motion to Withdraw Before Addressing Defendant’s Plea-Withdrawal Request, Holding Failure to Do So Violates Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel, Jan. 1, 2026. Appointment of Counsel, Sixth Amendment, Counsel - Constructive denial of, Self-representation, Withdrawal.
- SCOTUS Holds Sixth Amendment Requires Case-Specific Necessity Determination to Screen Child Witnesses, Rejecting Reliance on Mandatory State Statutes Based on Generalized Legislative Findings, Dec. 15, 2025. Sixth Amendment, Confrontation Clause/Rights, Video/Closed Circuit TV Testimony, Confrontation Clause.
- DOJ Settles With Orange County Over Use of “Jailhouse Snitches”, Dec. 1, 2025. Informants, Sixth Amendment, Confessions - Admissibility, Evidence - Failure to Disclose, Pleas Linked to Cooperation.
- Maine Superior Court Order to Reform Public Defender System Paused on Appeal, Dec. 1, 2025. Indigent Defense, Injunctions, Habeas Corpus, Sixth Amendment, Counsel - Constructive denial of.
