Smith v. Illinois - 469 U.S. 91, 105 S. Ct. 490 (1984)

Rule:

All questioning must cease after an accused requests counsel. In the absence of such a bright-line prohibition, the authorities through "badgering" or "overreaching," explicit or subtle, deliberate or unintentional, might otherwise wear down the accused and persuade him to incriminate himself notwithstanding his earlier request for counsel's assistance. With respect to the waiver inquiry, the court has emphasized that a valid waiver cannot be established by showing only that the accused responded to further police-initiated custodial interrogation. Using an accused's subsequent responses to cast doubt on the adequacy of the initial request itself is even more intolerable. No authority, and no logic, permits the interrogator to proceed on his own terms and as if the defendant had requested nothing, in the hope that the defendant might be induced to say something casting retrospective doubt on his initial statement that he wished to speak through an attorney or not at all.

Facts:

Defendant was questioned after he was advised of his Miranda rights. Defendant requested counsel during the reading, but after additional questioning he agreed to talk to the interrogators. Defendant confessed and was convicted for armed robbery after the trial court denied his request to suppress the confession. The Illinois Supreme Court determined that the confession was not obtained in violation of the Miranda rights because defendant had been equivocal and the totality of the circumstances indicated that he waived the right to counsel. Defendant petitioned for certiorari.

Issue:

Was the defendant’s initial request for counsel ambiguous, thereby leading to the conclusion that he waived his right to counsel? 

Answer:

No.

Conclusion:

The Court reversed the conviction of defendant for armed robbery because the court determined that post-request responses to further questioning after defendant had requested counsel was not proper for the determination of the assertion of the request for counsel. The Court determined that the confession obtained after the improper actions should have been suppressed.