The Sixth Amendment and Attorney Fees

[A18]

Does the Constitution require the government to provide the poor with an attorney?

[Emsworth]

No. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to have counsel appear in court on one's behalf. It does not provide that the government should pay for counsel. By analogy, the First Amendment does not require the government to pay the cost of a newspaper's publication, and the Second Amendment does not require the government to supply everyone with weapons.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Require, no.  Justify, yes.

[Yates]

I agree with Emsworth.  It simply guarantees one to have the right to an attorney.