Constitutional Law—Imposition of a Suspended Sentence in a Misdemeanor Case Invokes a Defendant’’s Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel—Alabama v. Shelton, 535 U.S. 654 (2002)

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees a criminal defendant the right to the assistance of counsel.  Initially, the right to counsel extended only to felony cases but gradually expanded to include misdemeanor cases that result in imprisonment.  In Alabama v. Shelton, the United States Supreme Court considered whether the Sixth Amendment right to counsel applied to an indigent defendant’’s suspended sentence in a misdemeanor case.  The Court concluded that failure to appoint counsel to such a defendant violated the Sixth Amendment. . . .