10.5Advice of Right to Counsel

A defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches at the defendant’s initial proceeding, regardless of the prosecution’s involvement in, or awareness of, the proceeding. Rothgery v Gillespie Co, 554 US 191, 194-195 (2008). If a juvenile charged with a criminal offense or a status offense is not represented by an attorney, the court must advise the juvenile of the right to the assistance of counsel at each stage of the proceedings. MCL 712A.17c(1). MCR 3.915(A)(1) states that this advice is required “at each stage of the proceedings on the formal calendar, including . . . disposition.”¹