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Criminal Procedure • 6th Amendment
CRIMPRO#034
Legal Definition
Yes. The 6th Amendment right to counsel is offense-specific, meaning that, even when invoked, the police can still question the defendant about a different crime.
Plain English Explanation
As you've learned in other cards, the 6th Amendment largely exists to prevent defendants from being taken advantage of by sneaky government agents in their attempt to prosecute the defendant for a specific crime they have been charged with. However, that doesn't mean the government isn't allowed to ever be sneaky. If a defendant is suspected of committing a different crime, but has not yet been formally charged for that crime, the 6th Amendment does not apply to sneaky actions for that crime.
Hypothetical
Hypo 1: Bob was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. Police suspected that Bob may have been involved in a local murder. Police placed an undercover officer in Bob's jail cell to gather information and try to get a confession from Bob about the murder. Bob admits that he did, indeed, commit the murder. Result: The first thing we need to note is whether or not this was a custodial interrogation. Bob is obviously not free to leave the jail cell, so he is absolutely in custody. Similarly, a government agent is asking questions with the goal of gathering evidence about a crime, so it is also an interrogation. The next issue is whether the defendant needed to be read their Miranda rights. Here, they would not need to. Why? The purpose of Miranda rights is to offset the coercive nature of interacting with police. In other words, people are generally intimidated by police and the Miranda warning acts as a reminder that they need not be intimidated into cooperating with police and, in fact, they should avoid doing so because it may end up hurting them. With that in mind, Miranda is then only applicable when a defendant is aware that they are engaging with a police officer. Thus, an undercover officer does not need to Mirandize a suspect because the suspect's mindset is that they are talking to just another citizen with no authority.
So Miranda doesn't apply here, but what about the 6th Amendment? It also does not apply. Why? Because the undercover officer isn't asking about a crime that the defendant has been charged with. Though the defendant has a right to have their attorney present if the undercover officer was asking about the DUI charge, Bob is only suspected of being involved in the murder and has not yet been charged, which would then trigger 6th Amendment protections.
So Miranda doesn't apply here, but what about the 6th Amendment? It also does not apply. Why? Because the undercover officer isn't asking about a crime that the defendant has been charged with. Though the defendant has a right to have their attorney present if the undercover officer was asking about the DUI charge, Bob is only suspected of being involved in the murder and has not yet been charged, which would then trigger 6th Amendment protections.
