Scott v. Illinois
E280897
Scott v. Illinois is a 1979 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held the Sixth Amendment right to appointed counsel applies only when a defendant is actually sentenced to imprisonment, thereby limiting the broader protections suggested in Argersinger v. Hamlin.
All labels observed (2)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Scott v. Illinois canonical | 4 |
| Scott v. Illinois, 440 U.S. 367 (1979) | 1 |
Statements (44)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Sixth Amendment case
ⓘ
United States Supreme Court case ⓘ criminal procedure case ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
misdemeanor prosecutions
ⓘ
petty offenses ⓘ |
| areaOfLaw |
constitutional law
ⓘ
criminal law ⓘ criminal procedure ⓘ |
| citation | 440 U.S. 367 ⓘ |
| citationStyle |
Scott v. Illinois
self-linksurface differs
ⓘ
surface form:
Scott v. Illinois, 440 U.S. 367 (1979)
|
| constitutionalProvisionInterpreted |
Fourteenth Amendment
ⓘ
surface form:
Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
U.S. Constitution, Sixth Amendment ⓘ
surface form:
Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1979-03-05 ⓘ |
| decisionType | majority decision ⓘ |
| defendantType | indigent defendant ⓘ |
| effect |
Narrowed the scope of the right to counsel in non-felony cases.
ⓘ
States are not required to provide counsel when only a fine is imposed. ⓘ |
| fullCaseName | Scott v. Illinois self-link ⓘ |
| holding |
The Sixth Amendment requires appointed counsel only when a defendant is actually sentenced to imprisonment.
ⓘ
There is no constitutional right to appointed counsel when no term of imprisonment is imposed. ⓘ |
| jurisdiction |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| legalIssue |
U.S. Constitution, Sixth Amendment
ⓘ
surface form:
Sixth Amendment
appointment of counsel for indigent defendants ⓘ right to counsel ⓘ |
| limits | Argersinger v. Hamlin ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | William H. Rehnquist ⓘ |
| overrules | broad reading of Argersinger v. Hamlin ⓘ |
| page | 367 ⓘ |
| petitioner | Scott ⓘ |
| precedentialStatus | binding precedent in federal and state courts on right-to-counsel issues involving actual imprisonment ⓘ |
| relatedCase |
Alabama v. Shelton
ⓘ
Argersinger v. Hamlin ⓘ Gideon v. Wainwright ⓘ |
| reporter | United States Reports ⓘ |
| respondent |
Illinois
ⓘ
surface form:
State of Illinois
|
| ruleAnnounced | Actual imprisonment standard for right to appointed counsel in misdemeanor cases ⓘ |
| standard | Right to counsel attaches when a defendant is actually sentenced to jail, not merely exposed to jail time. ⓘ |
| stateParty | Illinois ⓘ |
| subsequentTreatment | Clarified and limited by Alabama v. Shelton regarding suspended sentences ⓘ |
| timePeriod | Warren and Burger Court era ⓘ |
| volume | 440 ⓘ |
| voteDissent | 4 ⓘ |
| voteMajority | 5 ⓘ |
Referenced by (5)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Scott v. Illinois, 440 U.S. 367 (1979)