Villarreal v. Texas · ¶76

The Sixth Amendment, made applicable to the States by the Fourteenth Amendment, guarantees to a criminal defendant the right to have “the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.” It was enacted in response to English laws that sometimes forced defendants to represent themselves at trial. See Garza v. Idaho, 586 U. S. 232, 259 (2019) (Thomas, J., dissenting). This Court has interpreted it to guarantee a defendant a right to discuss with counsel matters other than his ongoing testimony. The trial judge's order here allowed Villarreal and his counsel to discuss matters other than Villarreal's ongoing testimony overnight, so it did not violate his Sixth Amendment rights.

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