Critical Stages of Prosecution
Definition
Any interaction between an accused person and the government in which the government makes a deliberate effort to elicit incriminating information from the accused person. Critical stages of prosecution include (1) any pretrial proceeding in which the accused person's substantial rights may be affected by the outcome (e.g., preliminary hearings), (2) the guilt phase of the trial, and (3) the sentencing phase of the trial. The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees an accused person the right to the effective assistance of counsel at all critical stages of the prosecution.