ABSTRACT
Millions of defendants are arrested and prosecuted for misdemeanor crimes that subject them to potential incarceration, loss of employment and housing, and even deportation. Yet the vast majority of misdemeanor defendants are deprived of their fundamental rights. This chapter provides an overview of the history of misdemeanor defendant rights, particularly focusing on Supreme Court decisions on the right to jury trial, the right to counsel, the right to appeal, and the right to be heard by an attorney-judge.
