D.C. Court of Appeals Hybrid Oral Arguments – November 08, 2023
Watch Oral Argument on Youtube
This case raised the question of whether the Court of Appeals would create an exception to the strict rule, based on the right to counsel under the Sixth Amendment, that a judge may not prevent a criminal defendant from consulting with his attorney over a long recess, like overnight or a weekend, even when the defendant is in the middle of testifying. The Court rejected the government’s invitation to create an exception, applied settled law, and reversed this client’s conviction. The case was returned to Superior Court for a re-trial.