When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, courts across the United States moved in-person hearings to virtual hearings within a matter of days. The transition heavily impacted criminal defendants, whose cases overnight depended on video conferences. As COVID-19 cases rose, so did the number of defendants pleading guilty, raising serious due process concerns across the country (Baldwin et al., 2020). The Sixth Amendment guarantees that “in all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall