This is the 2021 Program Overview for the U.S. Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance’s (BJA’s) initiative to support the protection of constitutional rights under the Sixth Amendment
BJA funds a training and technical assistance (TTA) Initiative to support the protection of constitutional rights under the Sixth Amendment. The TTA initiative is a unique project intended to improve the capacity of state and local governments to uphold Sixth Amendment rights. This 2021 Program Overview describes the work of the Center for Court Innovation (the Center) and its partner, the National Legal Aid & Defender Association (NLADA). Each site receiving TTA is supported by a two-person team, an attorney practitioner with criminal court experience and a researcher with experience in data capacity-building. Informed by data and research, the TTA teams support individual sites in their efforts to build systems and tools to protect the following rights in the Sixth Amendment: 1) The right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury; 2) The right to know the nature of the accusation; 3) The right to confront and call witnesses; and 4) The right to have a lawyer’s assistance. The phases of project work are 1) Initial planning and needs assessment; 2) Summary report; 3) Moving through the strategic plan; and 4) Sustainability planning.