Court Opinion

ID: 9431406
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 23:32:14.151136+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:23:28.357768
License: Public Domain

Justice Stevens,
with whom Justice Brennan and Justice Marshall join, dissenting.
The Court should not condone unethical forms of trial preparation by prosecutors or their investigators. In civil litigation it is improper for a lawyer to communicate with his or her adversary’s client without either notice to opposing counsel or the permission of the court.1 An attempt to obtain evidence for use at trial by going behind the back of one’s adversary would be not only a serious breach of professional ethics but also a manifestly unfair form of trial practice. In the criminal context, the same ethical rules apply and, in my opinion, notions of fairness that are at least as demanding should also be enforced.
After a jury has been empaneled and a criminal trial is in progress, it would obviously be improper for the prosecutor to conduct a private interview with the defendant for the pur*302pose of obtaining evidence to be used against him at trial. By “private interview” I mean, of course, an interview initiated by the prosecutor, or his or her agents, without notice to the defendant’s lawyer and without the permission of the court. Even if such an interview were to be commenced by giving the defendant the five items of legal advice that are mandated by Miranda, see ante, at 288, n. 1,1 have no doubt that this Court would promptly and unanimously condemn such a shabby practice. As our holding in Michigan v. Jackson, 475 U. S. 625 (1986), suggests, such a practice would not simply constitute a serious ethical violation, but would rise to the level of an impairment of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel.2
*303The question that this case raises, therefore, is at what point in the adversary process does it become impermissible for the prosecutor, or his or her agents, to conduct such private interviews with the opposing party? Several alternatives are conceivable: when the trial commences, when the defendant has actually met and accepted representation by his or her appointed counsel, when counsel is appointed, or when the adversary process commences. In my opinion, the Sixth Amendment right to counsel demands that a firm and unequivocal line be drawn at the point at which adversary proceedings commence.
In prior cases this Court has used strong language to emphasize the significance of the formal commencement of adversary proceedings. Such language has been employed to explain decisions denying the defendant the benefit of the protection of the Sixth Amendment in preindictment settings, but an evenhanded interpretation of the Amendment would support the view that additional protection should automatically attach the moment the formal proceed*304ings begin. One such example is Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U. S. 682 (1972), in which the Court concluded that the general rule requiring the presence of counsel at pretrial, lineup identifications, see United States v. Wade, 388 U. S. 218 (1967); Gilbert v. California, 388 U. S. 263 (1967), should not extend to protect custodial defendants not yet formally charged. Justice Stewart’s plurality opinion explained the significance of the formal charge:
“The initiation of judicial criminal proceedings is far from a mere formalism. It is the starting point of our whole system of adversary criminal justice. For it is only then that the government has committed itself to prosecute, and only then that the adverse positions of government and defendant have solidified. It is then that a defendant finds himself faced with the prosecuto-rial forces of organized society, and immersed in the intricacies of substantive and procedural criminal law. It is this point, therefore, that marks the commencement of the ‘criminal prosecutions’ to which alone the explicit guarantees of the Sixth Amendment are applicable. See Powell v. Alabama, 287 U. S., at 66-71; Massiah v. United States, 377 U. S. 201; Spano v. New York, 360 U. S. 315, 324 (Douglas, J., concurring).” 406 U. S., at 689-690 (footnote omitted).
Similarly, in United States v. Gouveia, 467 U. S. 180 (1984), we relied upon the significance of the absence of a formal charge in concluding that the Sixth Amendment does not require the appointment of counsel for indigent prison inmates confined in administrative detention while authorities investigate their possible involvement in criminal activity. Again the Court noted that “given the plain language of the Amendment and its purpose of protecting the unaided layman at critical confrontations with his adversary, our conclusion that the right to counsel attaches at the initiation of adversary ju*305dicial criminal proceedings ‘is far from a mere formalism.’ Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U. S., at 689.” Id., at 189.
Most recently, in Moran v. Burbine, 475 U. S. 412 (1986), the Court upheld a waiver of the right to counsel in a pretrial context even though the waiver “would not be valid” if the same situation had arisen after indictment, see ante, at 296-297, n. 9. In the Moran opinion, the Court explained:
“It is clear, of course, that, absent a valid waiver, the defendant has the right to the presence of an attorney during any interrogation occurring after the first formal charging proceeding, the point at which the Sixth Amendment right to counsel initially attaches. United States v. Gouveia, 467 U. S. 180, 187 (1984); Kirby v. Illinois, 406 U. S. 682, 689 (1972) (opinion of Stewart, J.). See Brewer v. Williams, 430 U. S., at 400-401. And we readily agree that once the right has attached, it follows that the police may not interfere with the efforts of a defendant’s attorney to act as a ‘ “medium” between [the suspect] and the State’ during the interrogation. Maine v. Moulton, 474 U. S. 159, 176 (1985); see Brewer v. Williams, supra, at 401, n. 8. The difficulty for respondent is that the interrogation sessions that yielded the inculpatory statements took place before the initiation of ‘adversary judicial proceedings.’ United States v. Gouveia, supra, at 192.” 475 U. S., at 428.
Today, however, in reaching a decision similarly favorable to the interest in law enforcement unfettered by process concerns, the Court backs away from the significance previously attributed to the initiation of formal proceedings. In the majority’s view, the purported waiver of counsel in this case is properly equated with that of an unindicted suspect. Yet, as recognized in Kirby, Gouveia, and Moran, important differ-*306enees separate the two.3 The return of an indictment, or like instrument, substantially alters the relationship between the state and the accused. Only after a formal accusation has “the government. . . committed itself to prosecute, and only then [have] the adverse positions of government and defendant . . . solidified.” Kirby, 406 U. S., at 689. Moreover, the return of an indictment also presumably signals the government’s conclusion that it has sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case. As a result, any further interrogation can only be designed to buttress the government’s case; authorities are no longer simply attempting “ ‘to solve a crime.’” United States v. Mohabir, 624 F. 2d 1140, 1148 (CA2 1980) (quoting People v. Waterman, 9 N. Y. 2d 561, 565, 175 N. E. 2d 445, 447 (1961)); see also Moran v. Burbine, 475 U. S., at 430. Given the significance of the initiation of formal proceedings and the concomitant shift in the relationship between the state and the accused, I think it quite wrong to suggest that Miranda warnings — of for that *307matter, any warnings offered by an adverse party — provide a sufficient basis for permitting the undoubtedly prejudicial— and, in my view, unfair — practice of permitting trained law enforcement personnel and prosecuting attorneys to communicate with as-of-yet unrepresented criminal defendants.
It is well settled that there is a strong presumption against waiver of Sixth Amendment protections, see Michigan v. Jackson, 475 U. S., at 633; Von Moltke v. Gillies, 332 U. S. 708, 723 (1948) (plurality opinion); Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U. S. 458, 464 (1938), and that a waiver may only be accepted if made with full awareness of “the dangers and disadvantages of self-representation,” Faretta v. California, 422 U. S. 806, 835 (1975); see also Adams v. United States ex rel. McCann, 317 U. S. 269, 279 (1942) (accused “may waive his Constitutional right to assistance of counsel if he knows what he is doing and his choice is made with eyes open”). Warnings offered by an opposing party, whether detailed or cursory, simply cannot satisfy this high standard.
The majority premises its conclusion that Miranda warnings lay a sufficient basis for accepting a waiver of the right to counsel on the. assumption that those warnings make clear to an accused “what a lawyer could ‘do for him’ during the postindictment questioning: namely, advise [him] to refrain from making any [incriminating] statements.” Ante, at 294 (footnote omitted).4 Yet, this is surely a gross understatement of the disadvantage of proceeding without a lawyer and *308an understatement of what a defendant must understand to make a knowing waiver.5 The Miranda warnings do not, for example, inform the accused that a lawyer might examine the indictment for legal sufficiency before submitting his or her client to interrogation or that a lawyer is likely to be considerably more skillful at negotiating a plea bargain and that such negotiations may be most fruitful if initiated prior to any interrogation. Rather, the warnings do not even go so far as to explain to the accused the nature of the charges pending against him — advice that a court would insist upon before allowing a defendant to enter a guilty plea with or' without the presence of an attorney, see Henderson v. Morgan, 426 U. S. 637 (1976). Without defining precisely the nature of the inquiry required to establish a valid waiver of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel, it must be conceded that at least minimal advice is necessary — the accused must be told of the “dangers and disadvantages of self-representation.”
Yet, once it is conceded that certain advice is required and that after indictment the adversary relationship between the state and the accused has solidified, it inescapably follows *309that a prosecutor may not conduct private interviews with a charged defendant. As at least one Court of Appeals has recognized, there are ethical constraints that prevent a prosecutor from giving legal advice to an uncounseled adversary.6 Thus, neither the prosecutor nor his or her agents can ethically provide the unrepresented defendant with the kind of advice that should precede an evidence-gathering interview after formal proceedings have been commenced. Indeed, in my opinion even the Miranda warnings themselves are a species of legal advice that is improper when given by the prosecutor after indictment.
Moreover, there are good reasons why such advice is deemed unethical, reasons that extend to the custodial, post-indictment setting with unequaled strength. First, the offering of legal advice may lead an accused to underestimate the prosecuting authorities’ true adversary posture. For an incarcerated defendant — in this case, a 17-year-old who had been in custody for 44 hours at the time he was told of the *310indictment — the assistance of someone to explain why he is being held, the nature of the charges against him, and the extent of his legal rights, may be of such importance as to overcome what is perhaps obvious to most, that the prosecutor is a foe and not a friend. Second, the adversary posture of the parties, which is not fully solidified until formal charges are brought, will inevitably tend to color the advice offered. As hard as a prosecutor might try, I doubt that it is possible for one to wear the hat of an effective adviser to a criminal defendant while at the same time wearing the hat of a law enforcement authority. Finally, regardless of whether or not the accused actually understands the legal and factual issues involved and the state’s role as an adversary party, advice offered by a lawyer (or his or her agents) with such an evident conflict of interest cannot help but create a public perception of unfairness and unethical conduct. And as we held earlier this Term, “courts have an independent interest in ensuring that criminal trials are conducted within the ethical standards of the profession and that legal proceedings appear fair to all who observe them.” Wheat v. United States, 486 U. S. 153, 160 (1988). This interest is a factor that may be considered in deciding whether to override a defendant’s waiver of his or her Sixth Amendment right to conflict-free representation, see ibid., and likewise, should be considered in determining whether a waiver based on advice offered by the criminal defendant’s adversary is ever appropriate.7
In sum, without a careful discussion of the pitfalls of proceeding without counsel, the Sixth Amendment right cannot properly be waived. An adversary party, moreover, cannot adequately provide such advice. As a result, once the right to counsel attaches and the adversary relationship between *311the state and the accused solidifies, a prosecutor cannot conduct a private interview with an accused party without “dilut[ing] the protection afforded by the right to counsel,” Maine v. Moulton, 474 U. S. 159, 171 (1985). Although this ground alone is reason enough to never permit such private interviews, the rule also presents the added virtue of drawing a clear and easily identifiable line at the point between the investigatory and adversary stages of a criminal proceeding. Such clarity in definition of constitutional rules that govern criminal proceedings is important to the law enforcement profession as well as to the private citizen. See Arizona v. Roberson, 486 U. S. 675 (1988). It is true, of course, that the interest in effective law enforcement would benefit from an opportunity to engage in incommunicado questioning of defendants who, for reasons beyond their control, have not been able to receive the legal advice from counsel to which they are constitutionally entitled. But the Court’s singleminded concentration on that interest might also lead to the toleration of similar practices at any stage of the trial. I think it clear that such private communications are intolerable not simply during trial, but at any point after adversary proceedings have commenced.
I therefore respectfully dissent.

 Disciplinary Rule 7-104 of the ABA Model Code of Professional Responsibility (1982) provides in relevant part:
“(A) During the course of his representation of a client a lawyer shall not: “(1) Communicate or cause another to communicate on the subject of the representation with a party he knows to be represented by a lawyer in that matter unless he has the prior consent of the lawyer representing such other party or is authorized by law to do so.”
Likewise, Rule 4.2 of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct (1984) provides:
“In representing a client, a lawyer shall not eommunicáte about the subject of the representation with a party the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter, unless the lawyer has the consent of the other lawyer or is authorized by law to do so.”

 In Jackson, we held that “if police initiate interrogation after a defendant’s assertion, at an arraignment or similar proceeding, of his right to counsel, any waiver of the defendant’s right to counsel for that police-initiated interrogation is invalid.” 475 U. S., at 636. In that case we held the waiver invalid even though the appointed law firm had not yet received notice of the appointment and the defendant had not yet been informed that a law firm had been appointed to represent him. ' Id., at 627.
Similarly, our holdings in Massiah v. United States, 377 U. S. 201 (1964), United States v. Henry, 447 U. S. 264 (1980), and Maine v. Moulton, 474 U. S. 159 (1985), suggest that law enforcement personnel may not bypass counsel in favor of direct communications with an accused. In each of these cases, the government engaged in secret attempts to elicit incriminating statements from an indicted suspect through the use of government informants. Yet, the Court's analysis does not turn primarily upon the covert nature of the interrogation. See Brewer v. Williams, 430 U. S. 387, 400 (1977) (“That the incriminating statements were elicited surreptitiously in the Massiah case, and otherwise here, is constitutionally irrelevant”! Nor does the finding of a Sixth Amendment violation appear to turn upon the absence, of a waiver, which, of course, could not have been obtained given the surreptitious nature of the attempts to elicit incriminating statements. But cf. Jackson, 475 U. S., at 641, n. 4 (Rehnquist, J., dissenting). As the Court wrote in Moulton:
“Once the right to counsel has attached and been asserted, the State must of course honor it. This means more than simply that the State cannot prevent the accused from obtaining the assistance of counsel. The Sixth Amendment also imposes on the State an affirmative obligation to *303respeet and preserve the accused’s choice to seek this assistance. We have on several occasions been called upon to clarify the scope of the State’s obligation in this regard, and have made clear that, at the very least, the prosecutor and police have an affirmative obligation not to act in a manner that circumvents and thereby dilutes the protection afforded by the right to counsel.” 474 U. S., at 170-171 (footnote omitted).
See also Henry, 447 U. S., at 274 (“By intentionally creating a situation likely to induce Henry to make incriminating statements without the assistance of counsel, the Government violated Henry’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel”) (footnote omitted); Massiah, 377 U. S., at 206 (“We hold that the petitioner was denied the basic protections of [the Sixth Amendment] guarantee when there was used against him at his trial evidence of his own incriminating words, which federal agents had deliberately elicited from him after he had been indicted and in the absence of his counsel”). I think it clear that an ex parte communication between a prosecutor, or his or her agents, and a represented defendant — regardless of whether the accused has received Miranda warnings — can only be viewed as an attempt to “cireumven[t]” and “dilut[e] the protection afforded by the right to counsel.” Moulton, 474 U. S., at 171.

 Other of our prior decisions have also made clear that the return of a formal charge fundamentally alters the relationship between the State and the accused, conferring increased protections upon defendants in their interactions with state authorities. In Michigan v. Jackson, 475 U. S. 625 (1986), we explained:
“Indeed, after a formal accusation has been made — and a person who had previously been just a ‘suspect’ has become an ‘accused’ within the meaning of the Sixth Amendment — the constitutional right to the assistance of counsel is of such importance that the police may no longer employ techniques for eliciting information from an uncounseled defendant that might have been entirely proper at an earlier stage of their investigation. Thus, the surreptitious employment of a cellmate, see United States v. Henry, 447 U. S. 264 (1980), or the electronic surveillance of conversations with third parties, see Maine v. Moulton, [474 U. S. 159 (1985)]; Massiah v. United States, 377 U. S. 201 (1964), may violate the defendant’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel even though the same methods of investigation might have been permissible before arraignment or indictment.” Id., at 632 (footnote omitted).
See also Wyrick v. Fields, 459 U. S. 42, 50 (1982) (Marshall, J., dissenting).

The majority finds support for its conclusion that Miranda warnings provide a sufficient basis for a waiver of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel in “petitioner’s inability, in the proceedings before this Court, to articulate with precision what additional information should have been provided to him before he would have been competent to waive his right to counsel.” Ante, at 294. Additional — although not exhaustive — possible warnings, however, have been articulated. See, e. g., United States v. Callabrass, 458 F. Supp. 964, 967 (SDNY 1978). Part of the difficulty in fashioning a proper boilerplate set of warnings is that, unlike in the Fifth Amendment context, the information that must be imparted to the accused will vary from case to case as the facts, legal issues, and parties differ.

 Respondent, and the United States as amicus curiae, argue that the comprehensive inquiry required by Faretta v. California, 422 U. S. 806 (1975), should not be extended to pretrial waivers because the role of counsel — and conversely the difficulty of proceeding without counsel — is more important at trial. I reject the premise that a lawyer’s skills are more likely to sit idle at a pretrial interrogation than at trial. Both events require considerable experience and expertise and I would be reluctant to rank one over the other. Moreover, as we recognized in Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U. S. 478 (1964):
“[T]he ‘right to use counsel at the formal trial [would be] a very hollow thing [if], for all practical purposes, the conviction is already assured by pretrial examination.’ In re Groban, 352 U. S. 330, 344 (Black, J., . dissenting). ‘One can imagine a cynical prosecutor saying: “Let them have the most illustrious counsel, now. They can’t escape the noose. There is nothing that counsel can do for them at the trial.” ’ Ex parte Sullivan, 107 F. Supp. 514, 517-518.” Id., at 487-488 (footnote omitted).
See also United States v. Wade, 388 U. S. 218, 226 (1967); Spano v. New York, 360 U. S. 315, 325, 326 (1959) (Douglas, J., concurring).

 In discussing a suggestion that the prosecutor should supplement the customary Miranda warnings in the postindictment setting, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit wrote:
“We believe there are strong policy reasons, grounded in ethical considerations, for not adopting the . . . alternative of having the prosecutor give further warnings to the defendant. The government itself points out that a prosecutor ‘is, in many senses, an adversary of the defendant, and, as such, is counselled not to give him legal advice’; in support of this proposition, the government cites the ABA Code of Professional Responsibility, DR 7-104(A)(2).14
“14 DR 7-104(A) provides:
“During the course of his representation of a client a lawyer shall not:
“(1) Communicate or cause another to communicate on the subject of the representation with a party he knows to be represented by a lawyer in that matter unless he has the prior consent of the lawyer representing such other party or is authorized by law to do so.
“(2) Give advice to a person who is not represented by a lawyer, other than the advice to secure counsel, if the interests of such person are or have a reasonable possibility of being in conflict with the interests of his client.” United States v. Mohabir, 624 F. 2d 1140, 1152 (1980).

 In Wheat, we sustained the District Court’s decision to reject the defendant’s waiver of the right to conflict-free representation even though Wheat, unlike the petitioner, made his decision to waive this right with the assistance of additional counsel, see 486 U. S., at 172 (Stevens, J., dissenting).