Maine v. Moulton
E821209
Maine v. Moulton is a 1985 U.S. Supreme Court decision that expanded Sixth Amendment protections by holding that the government violates the right to counsel when it deliberately elicits incriminating statements from an indicted defendant through a cooperating co-defendant acting as an informant.
Statements (46)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Sixth Amendment case
ⓘ
United States Supreme Court case ⓘ criminal procedure case ⓘ |
| arguedDate | 1985-03-27 ⓘ |
| citation | 474 U.S. 159 ⓘ |
| constitutionalProvision | Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| court | Supreme Court of the United States ⓘ |
| crimeCharged | theft-related offenses ⓘ |
| decisionDate | 1985-12-10 ⓘ |
| dissentingJustices |
Chief Justice Warren E. Burger
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Lewis F. Powell Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ William H. Rehnquist NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| dissentingOpinionBy | Chief Justice Warren E. Burger NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| effect | Expanded protections for indicted defendants against government use of informants to obtain incriminating statements. ⓘ |
| holding |
The State may not use surreptitious investigatory techniques to circumvent the protections of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel after formal charges have been filed.
ⓘ
The government violates the Sixth Amendment right to counsel when it deliberately elicits incriminating statements from an indicted defendant through a cooperating co-defendant acting as an informant. ⓘ |
| jurisdiction |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| language | English ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
deliberate elicitation of incriminating statements
ⓘ
right to counsel ⓘ use of informants after indictment ⓘ |
| majorityJustices |
Byron R. White
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Harry A. Blackmun NERFINISHED ⓘ John Paul Stevens NERFINISHED ⓘ Sandra Day O’Connor NERFINISHED ⓘ Thurgood Marshall NERFINISHED ⓘ William J. Brennan Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | Justice William J. Brennan Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| petitioner | State of Maine NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| principle |
Once the Sixth Amendment right to counsel has attached, the government may not knowingly circumvent that right by using an undercover agent to elicit incriminating statements about the charged offense.
ⓘ
The State’s interest in investigating new or additional crimes does not justify knowingly circumventing the accused’s right to counsel regarding pending charges. ⓘ |
| proceduralPosture | review of a decision of the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine ⓘ |
| relatedCase |
Brewer v. Williams
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Massiah v. United States NERFINISHED ⓘ United States v. Henry NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| relatedDoctrine | Massiah doctrine NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| reporter | United States Reports ⓘ |
| respondent | Richard Moulton NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| result | Judgment of the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine affirmed in part and reversed in part ⓘ |
| subjectMatter | state criminal prosecution ⓘ |
| topic |
criminal investigations
ⓘ
post-indictment interrogation ⓘ use of undercover informants ⓘ |
| volume | 474 ⓘ |
| year | 1985 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.