Waiving Your Right to Counsel

Under the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution, a criminal defendant has the right to counsel. That criminal defendant also has the right to waive their right to legal assistance.

Clarification of the right to waive counsel was provided in the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s review of Wisconsin v. Delebreau (2015).

In 2011, after a jury trial, Jesse J. Delebreau was convicted of delivering heroin, second or subsequent offense, as a repeater and as party to a crime. Delebreau appealed the conviction, arguing that statements made to investigators—given while he was incarcerated—should have been suppressed. The statements were given after Delebreau had been charged and after he appeared with counsel in court. Delebreau was read his Miranda rights prior to the interview and did not request counsel.

Upon review, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals affirmed his conviction and the denial of the motion to suppress. The Wisconsin Supreme Court reviewed the case and affirmed the ruling of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, holding that “a waiver of Miranda rights is sufficient to waive the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, and that Art. I, Sec. 7 of the Wisconsin Constitution does not provide greater protections than the Sixth Amendment in the context of such waiver.”