Kuhlman v. Wilson
Citation and Court
477 U.S. 436 (1986) — Supreme Court of the United States
Facts
After Wilson was arraigned on murder and robbery charges, police placed a jailhouse informant in his cell and instructed the informant to listen but not question Wilson about the crimes. Wilson spontaneously made incriminating statements to the informant.
Issue
Whether the Sixth Amendment is violated when a government informant, placed in a defendant’s cell after indictment, merely listens without actively eliciting incriminating statements.
Holding
The Sixth Amendment was not violated; passive listening by an informant, without deliberate elicitation of incriminating statements, does not constitute an unconstitutional interrogation.
Rule / Doctrine
Under Massiah v. United States, the Sixth Amendment is violated only where the government deliberately elicits incriminating statements after the right to counsel has attached. An informant who merely acts as a “listening post” without asking questions or otherwise stimulating the defendant to make incriminating statements does not trigger the Massiah rule.
Significance
Defines the outer boundary of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel in the informant context: it is the act of deliberate elicitation, not mere presence, that constitutes a violation. Defendants bear the burden of showing the informant did more than passively receive volunteered statements.