1. Sixth Amendment Speedy Trial
> The government cannot hold you in jail for a long period of time without bringing you to trial if you demand that the trial be held as soon as possible.
> HISTORY - In the years before the American Revolution, the British denied colonists accused of a crime the right to a speedy trial. They took them all the way to England, which took two months alone. Once in England, the colonists often were held in jail for several more months before being tried in court.

2. Public Trial
> The government cannot try you in secret. Your trial must be open to the public and there must be a public record of the proceedings.
> HISTORY - In England in the 1500s, the Star Chamber Court operated in secret. People would be arrested, questioned, tried, and sentenced in secret. The general public did not know how they operated, how they made their decisions, and what happened to the people brought before the court.
- In the England's North American colonies just before the revolution, the Vice-Admiralty courts operated in much the same way.

3. Impartial Jury
> The government cannot try you before a jury that is prejudiced against you.
> HISTORY - In the years before the American Revolution, the British denied colonists accused of a crime the right to a trial before an impartial jury. They took them all the way to England where the accused colonists were tried by English judges who were often very biased against the colonists and their complaints of oppression.

4. Location of the Trial
> The government must try you in the state and district or community where the crime was committed. However, you may have the right to have the trial moved to another place if you can show that the community is prejudiced against you.
> HISTORY - In the years before the American Revolution, the British denied colonists accused of a crime the right to a trial in the community where it supposedly occurred. They often took them places where most of the colonists were Loyalists or all the way to England where the accused colonists were tried by English judges.

5. Information on Charges
> The government cannot arrest you and hold you for trial without telling you why it is doing so. Government lawyers must also present in open court enough evidence to justify holding you for trial. This evidence is important to help you prepare your defense.
> HISTORY - In England in the 1500s, the Star Chamber Court often arrested people, questioned them, and sentenced them without ever telling the accused person what they had been arrested for.
- In the times just before the American Revolution, British courts often would not tell the accused colonists what evidence they had against them until during the trial. This made it difficult for the colonists to prepare an effective defense.

6. Confronting Witnesses
> You and your lawyer have the right to confront and cross-examine all witnesses against you. The government cannot present the testimony of secret witnesses against you who do not appear in court.
> HISTORY - In England in the 1500s, the Star Chamber Court often arrested people and tried them using the testimony of secret witnesses who were never identified and who never appeared in court. The secret witnesses simply spoke to the judges in private or wrote letters to the court. In the 1600s, witnesses often appeared in court to testify, but the accused person often was not allowed to question the witnesses themselves.

7. Favorable Witnesses
> The government cannot prevent you from presenting witnesses who might testify in your favor. In fact, if such witnesses do not want to testify and you want them to, the court must force them to appear in court.
> HISTORY - In England in the 1500s and 1600s, the Star Chamber Court and the High Commission often arrested people and tried them without letting the accused person call witnesses who could prove their innocence or, at least, testify in their favor.

8. Assistance of Counsel
> The government cannot prevent you from having a lawyer defend you starting at the time you have been named a suspect. If you cannot afford one, the government must provide you a lawyer free of charge.
> HISTORY - In England in the 1500s, defendants in felony trials did not have the right to counsel. Only in misdemeanor trials was the accused allowed to have a lawyer.
- In the United States Supreme Court decision in the case, Gideon v. Wainwright(1963), the court extended the right to free counsel to the poor in all felony cases (those involving major crimes). The right has also been extended by decisions in such cases as Miranda v. Arizona(1966) to apply not only to criminal trials, but to other critical stages in the criminal justice process, such as during police questioning of suspects.