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Frye v. Missouri and the Rights of Due Process

 

             3d 350, raises the issue of whether or not the defendant has been denied his rights of due process wherein the legal assistance provided to him failed to communicate a generous plea bargain offered by the prosecution. Frye was sentenced to three years in prison after a fair trial because his counsel had made unprofessional mistakes that led to him pleading guilty to a harsher sentence than he could have received. The defendant should not be held liable for making an uneducated guilty plea after his attorney, Michael Coles, failed to perform his duties as the appointed defense. The outcome resulted from a lack of legal assistance; therefore Mr. Frye would have served a lighter sentence had he been fully entitled to his 6th amendment right to the assistance of an effective counsel. .
             The Sixth Amendment right to counsel is necessary to ensure the right to a fair trial. The basic structure of a fair trial is mainly composed of the many provisions of the Sixth Amendment. The Counsel Clause states: "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.".
             In the case of Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 in 1984, Strickland pled guilty to murder and several other charges. He was sentenced to death and attempted to challenge his sentence on account of ineffective assistance of counsel. After rejecting his claim and realizing how outrageous these claims can be, the court set out to make certain there be a test as to what is necessary for someone to prove their counsel was deemed ineffective.


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