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Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201
Case citation

Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called Reporter s or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported....
 (1964), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 held that the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions in federal courts....
 prohibits the government from eliciting statements about the defendant
Defendant

A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally indictment or accused of violating a crime statute....
 from him or herself after the point at which the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches.

In Massiah, the defendant had been indicted on a federal narcotics charge. He retained a lawyer, pled not guilty, and was released on bail.






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Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201
Case citation

Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called Reporter s or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported....
 (1964), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States

The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal United States federal courts. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who are nominated by the President of the United States and confirmed with th...
 held that the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which sets forth rights related to criminal prosecutions in federal courts....
 prohibits the government from eliciting statements about the defendant
Defendant

A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally indictment or accused of violating a crime statute....
 from him or herself after the point at which the Sixth Amendment right to counsel attaches.

In Massiah, the defendant had been indicted on a federal narcotics charge. He retained a lawyer, pled not guilty, and was released on bail. A co-defendant, after deciding to cooperate with the government, invited Massiah to sit in his car and discuss the crime he was indicted on, during which the government listened in via a radio transmitter. During the conversation, Massiah made several incriminating statements, and those statements were introduced at trial to be used against him.

Massiah appealed his conviction, which was affirmed in part by the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, . The Supreme Court granted certiorari
Certiorari

Certiorari is a legal term in Roman law, English law, and Law of the United States law referring to a type of writ seeking judicial review. Certiorari is the present tense passive voice infinitive of Latin certiorare, ....
 and reversed holding that the statements made by the defendant outside the presence of his attorney must be suppressed.

See also

  • List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 377
    List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 377

    This is a list of all the Supreme Court of the United States cases from volume 37 of the United States Reports:* Trainmen v. Virginia ex rel. Virginia State Bar, ...