On June 26th 2006 the United States Supreme court issued a decision regarding a case in which a man, Cuahetmoc Gonzalez-Lopez hired a lawyer, but then was subsequently not allowed to meet with him. The attorney tried on numerous occasions to meet with his client, but was prevented by an attorney hired by the family of Gonzalez on behalf of the court. The man was subsequently convicted, and appealed his decision on the grounds that the denial of his first choice attorney constituted a violation of his rights under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S Constitution.
In its statement, the court did find that this amounted to a violation of the Sixth amendment, and that the man was entitled to counsel of his choosing.
This decision overturns the man's conviction. Justice Alito wrote in his dissenting opinion that he believes this decision to be a misinterpretation of the Sixth Amendment, and that it is within the court's power to only admit attorneys that qualify under its procedural rules.
He also wrote that is on the burden of the defendant to show that he has been negatively affected by the denial of his first-choice attorney, in contrast to the majority decision of the court.
This is the primary difference between the opinions. The majority believes that this decision does overturn his conviction, while the dissenting judges Alito, Kennedy and Thomas believe that it should not. He points to the fact that the constitution does not make provisions for violation of its rules, and that federal law does.
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