McCoy v. Louisiana

The Sixth Amendment guarantees a defendant the right to choose the objective of his defense and to insist that his counsel refrain from admitting guilt, even when counsel’s experienced-based view is that confessing guilt offers the defendant the best chance to avoid the death penalty.

Petitioner was charged with first-degree murder of his estranged wife’s mother, step-father, and son. At trial, Petitioner adamantly insisted that he was innocent, but the trial court allowed Petitioner’s counsel to tell the jury that Petitioner was guilty of all three murder charges because Petitioner’s counsel believed that doing so was Petitioner’s best chance to avoid a death sentence. The jury found Petitioner guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and the trial court entered a verdict against Petitioner for three death sentences. The Supreme Court of Louisiana affirmed. The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to decide whether it was constitutional to permit defense counsel to concede Petitioner’s guilt despite Petitioner’s unambiguous claims of innocence. The Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment guarantees to every defendant the right “to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defense.” Therefore, Petitioner had the right to decide the objectives of his defense, and his defense counsel had an obligation to assist Petitioner in achieving those objectives. Furthermore, the Supreme Court held that the violation of Petitioner’s Sixth Amendment affected the framework under which the trial proceeded such that Petitioner must be granted a new trial without having to first prove prejudice. REVERSED and REMANDED.