Morris, Warden v. Slappy (461 U.S. 1)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 20, 1983 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 461 U.S. 1 · 103 S. Ct. 1610
- Decided
- April 20, 1983
- Term
- October Term 1982
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Burger
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Chief Justice Burger delivered the opinion of the Court. The question presented is whether it was error for the Court of Appeals to hold that the state trial court violated respondent’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel by denying respondent’s motion for a continuance until the Deputy Public Defender initially assigned to defend him was available. We granted certiorari, 456 U. S. 904 (1982), and we reverse. The issues raised arise out of two trials in the state court, the second trial having been held on two counts on which the first jury could not agree. Respondent was convicted of robbery, burglary, and false imprisonment in the first trial; he was convicted of rape and forcible oral copulation in the second. On review of all five counts, the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, affirmed the convictions, and the California Supreme Court denied review. Thereafter the United States District Court denied respondent’s petition for a writ of habeas corpus. This denial was reversed by the United States Court of Appeals, which held that the Sixth Amendment guarantees a right to counsel with whom the accused has a “meaningful attorney-client relationship,” and that the trial judge abused his discretion and violated this right by denying a motion for a continuance based on the substitution of appointed counsel six days before trial. 649 F. 2d 718 (CA9 1981). I…
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