The Sixth Amendment of the Constitution is important because it guarantees some crucial aspects of due process, that is, the legal procedures that the state must observe when bringing a criminal action against a person. To understand what is important about it, look at the text of the Amendment itself:
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.
To put this in more basic terms, the Sixth Amendment guarantees that a person accused of a crime cannot be tucked away in a jail cell somewhere, or tried before a secret court. The guilt or innocence of an individual in a criminal case is determined by a juries drawn from one's peers (who cannot be biased for or against the defendant), and the person must be informed of the "nature and cause of the accusation" so that they might contest it. Similarly, the witnesses against the accused can be cross-examined, or challenged by the accused, and the right of the accused to an attorney is guaranteed. Essentially, this amendment ensures that the criminal legal process will be adversarial, that the innocence of the accused is presumed, and that the prosecution cannot establish guilt without being challenged. In other words, the Sixth Amendment is important because it guarantees a fair trial.
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