Dennis Michael McCambridge v. the State of Texas, Appellee

Summary

The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas affirmed the lower court's judgment, holding that under Article I, §10 of the Texas Constitution and the Sixth Amendment the right to counsel does not attach until formal charges are filed, and that the Texas statutory provisions and the Fourteenth Amendment due‑process clause do not create an independent right to counsel before a breath‑test. The Court also overruled its prior decision in Forte that the critical‑stage analysis should be bright‑line. Two dissenting opinions argued that counsel should be available from the moment of arrest.