Massiah v. United States
Citation and Court
377 U.S. 201 (1964) — Supreme Court of the United States
Facts
Massiah was indicted on federal narcotics charges and retained a lawyer. A co-defendant, Colson, agreed to cooperate with the government and allowed agents to install a radio transmitter in his car. While driving with Massiah, Colson drew him into incriminating conversations that were transmitted to and recorded by federal agents. The statements were introduced at trial over Massiah’s objection.
Issue
Does the Sixth Amendment right to counsel prohibit the government from deliberately eliciting incriminating statements from an indicted defendant in the absence of his attorney?
Holding
Yes; once a defendant has been indicted and has counsel, the government may not deliberately elicit incriminating statements from him outside the presence of his attorney.
Rule / Doctrine
The Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches at the initiation of formal adversarial proceedings (indictment, arraignment, etc.). After that point, the government may not deliberately elicit statements from the defendant without counsel present, whether through overt interrogation or through the use of an undercover informant.
Significance
Massiah establishes that Sixth Amendment protections extend to covert, post-indictment government efforts to obtain incriminating statements, not just to overt questioning. It is the foundation for the “deliberately elicited” standard under the Sixth Amendment, which differs from and is narrower than the Fifth Amendment’s interrogation standard under Miranda.