The People of the State of New York v. John A. Witenski, Laurence Gray Reynolds and Terry Arthur Robinson

Summary

The Court reversed the convictions of three juvenile defendants, holding that Special Sessions courts must inform defendants of the availability of court‑assigned counsel and must assign counsel upon request, because the failure to do so violated their constitutional right to counsel. The Court also noted that the majority’s new procedural requirement was not mandated by the existing statute.