Da’quavion Snowden, the convicted killer of Pensacola standout football star Ladarius “LD” Clardy, must have his murder case tried again due to a Sixth Amendment violation.
Snowden was convicted of first-degree premeditated murder and attempted first-degree premeditated murder in July 2023 for Clardy’s death and the near-death of Clardy’s friend Eric Young.
But, what is a Sixth Amendment violation, and why did it get Snowden’s conviction reversed?
What is a Sixth Amendment Violation?
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides each defendant in all criminal prosecutions the right to counsel for their defense, along with the right to a speedy and public trial by a jury.
If at any point a defendant is not allowed counsel for defense, a speedy trial, a trial before an impartial jury or any other requirement outlined in the amendment, a judge could rule there was a violation and take steps to rectify the action depending on which stage the case stands.
Why does this matter for Da’quavion Snowden’s case?
In Snowden’s case, the appeals court ruled there was a Sixth amendment violation first committed by Escambia County Sheriff’s investigators when they arrested Snowden in 2021.
During Snowden’s recorded interview with law enforcement, the appeals court said he made “three unequivocal requests for counsel which were ignored” by investigators. They continued to question him without an attorney present, a right the Sixth Amendment requires.
In court before his trial, Snowden’s attorney argued everything her client said in the interview after requesting an attorney is inadmissible in court. However, Circuit Judge John Simon sided with the state, allowing statements, which included Snowden’s admission he drove the vehicle to the murder, into evidence during trial.
After Simon sentenced Snowden to life in prison without parole, he appealed his case based upon the violation of the Sixth Amendment, and the appeals court agreed, saying that Simon’s “erroneous admission of (Snowden’s) inculpatory statements at trial” was not harmless.
The court’s decision led to Snowden’s conviction and sentence being reversed, and the court ordered that if the state wishes to retry the case, they must abide by their opinion finding Snowden’s statements are inadmissible at trial.
What happens next in Da’quavion Snowden’s case?
The Office of the State Attorney told the News Journal that Snowden will be given a first court date and then his reopened case will be placed on the trial docket. As of Thursday morning, Snowden did not have a scheduled court date.
Snowden was transported to the Escambia County Jail Oct. 29 and will remain there throughout his case.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: What is a Sixth Amendment violation? Snowden retrial in Pensacola explained
Reporting by Benjamin Johnson, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
