Right to Public Trial

The Sixth Amendment guarantees a public trial absent compelling reasons for closure.

Related Sixth Amendment Rights rules

• 6th Amendment Right to CounselThe right attaches at initiation of adversarial proceedings and is offense-specific.
• Lineups & IdentificationPretrial identifications must not be unnecessarily suggestive and must have independent reliability.
• Right to Speedy TrialSpeedy trial rights consider length of delay, reasons, defendant’s assertion, and prejudice.
• Right to Jury TrialThe right applies to serious offenses with possible imprisonment over six months.

Part of Criminal Procedure on Core Legal Rules — foundational MBE-tested principles with primary-source citations.