The Sixth Amendment of the constitution of the United States and is a portion of the Bill of Rights and concerns the rights that the prosecution enjoys in case of criminal trials and Harr states “it is there to achieve fair criminal prosecution” Harr, 2002, p.320). There are various rights that are allotted to the prosecution under this Amendment and there are certain limitations associated with the level at which these rights can be enjoyed. Under the Sixth Amendment a defendant who has been charged with criminal activity has a right to a speedy trial. Under the Sixth Amendment if a defendant’s right to a speedy trial is violated, the end result is that the case is either dismissed or the overturning of the conviction takes place as a remedy. The 6th Amendment even states that if a case have been heavily publicized and there are chances that his/her right to due process will be violated, public and media access to the case can be limited and the defendant can even request for such a trial (Harr, 2002, p.320). But it is necessary for the defendant to prove that violation of his/her right to a trial that is fair in nature is arising and they even have the burden to prove that alternatives to closed trials cannot be used.
The 6th Amendment even protects the defendant’s right of a jury trial under which a defendant has a right to jury trial if the crime committed can result in more than six months of imprisonment and at least 6 members of jury are required for such a trial. Similarly, those defendants who fall in the category of juvenile do not have a right to such a trial. The Amendment even ensures that the jury is impartial in nature and has not been prejudiced due to coverage the case has received from media.
The Amendment even provides the right to the defendant of being able to confront the witness who is testifying against the defendant. The defendant is even provided with the right to have a public lawyer to defend his case if he does not has the ability to employ one and the defendant can even represent himself as a lawyer in the case only if the court rules him/her competent enough.
The Sixth Amendment clause of the speedy trial was applied to the case of Strunk vs. United States and in this case the defendant made the claim that his right for a speedy trial was denied for