MBE Rules · Criminal Procedure
6A right to counsel — when it attaches
Rothgery / Kirby
The rule
The Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches at the initiation of adversarial judicial proceedings — formal charge, indictment, information, arraignment, or preliminary hearing — whichever occurs first. It does not attach at arrest or during investigatory stops. Once attached, it is offense-specific under Blockburger.
In plain English
Timing matters. Pre-charge investigative techniques (lineups, questioning) implicate only the 5A/Miranda framework; post-charge techniques trigger both.
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