SINCE 1828
assistance of counsel
as·sis·tance of counsel
Legal Definition of assistance of counsel
: the help of a lawyer which a defendant in a criminal prosecution is guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution — see also ineffective assistance of counsel, Powell v. Alabama
Note: The Supreme Court held in Powell v. Alabama that the Sixth Amendment requires the state to provide a lawyer to a defendant too poor to hire one.
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