Dozing Lawyer Sparks Sixth Amendment Debate in Top State Court

Massachusetts’ highest court debated whether an attorney’s nodding off during a first degree murder trial violates a defendant’s constitutional right to counsel.

The defendant and several lawyers present during the trial noticed the lawyer doze off, but the defendant lacked clear evidence that the attorney slept during a critical stage of the case.

“I get when the informant’s testifying. I get when the rape victim’s testifying,” Justice Frank Gaziano said during oral argument on Wednesday. But there are plenty more mundane parts of a trial which may not constitute “a critical stage” and violate a defendant’s rights, he said.

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