The U.S. Supreme Court case Vermont v. Michael Brillon, 2008, revolved around the issue of whether delays caused by a defendant's assigned public defenders could be attributed to the state for purposes of the Sixth Amendment's speedy trial clause. The respondent, Michael Brillon, was convicted for felony domestic assault in 2004 but his sentencing only occurred three years after his arrest due to changes and unavailability of appointed counsel. He appealed on grounds that this delay violated his right to a speedy trial as per the Sixth Amendment. However, in a 7-2 decision led by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, it was ruled that such delays were not attributable to the State since public defenders are not considered state actors under law when providing representation within their professional capacity; hence they cannot be held accountable for violating constitutional rights like government officials can be held liable under civil rights laws (42 USC §1983). Therefore, these delays did not infringe upon Brillon’s right to a speedy trial.

In the dissenting opinion for Vermont v. Brillon, Justice Ginsburg disagreed with the majority's view that delays caused by assigned counsel should be attributed to the defendant rather than the state. She argued that this approach failed to consider how a public defender system functions in reality and could potentially undermine defendants' Sixth Amendment right to speedy trial. According to her, when an attorney appointed by the state fails in their duty, it is not justifiable or fair to attribute such failure and its consequences on delay of proceedings solely onto a dependent defendant who has no control over his/her representation. Furthermore, she expressed concern about potential negative implications of this ruling on indigent defendants who rely heavily on court-appointed attorneys for defense.