Fellers v. United States
Fellers allowed two police officers into his house. The officers told Fellers that he had been indicted on drug and conspiracy charges but did not advise him of his Miranda rights. Fellers admitted that he had used methamphetamine and associated with the individuals named in the indictment. The officers took Fellers to jail, where they read him his Miranda rights, which he waived. Fellers then repeated the incriminating statements. At trial, Fellers moved to suppress the statements he made both at home and at the jail. The district court suppressed the statements made at home but admitted those made at jail, finding that Fellers voluntarily waived his Miranda rights before making them. Fellers was convicted on conspiracy charges and sentenced to more than 12 years in prison. The court of appeals affirmed.
Questions Presented:
1. Did the 8th Circuit err when it concluded that Feller's Sixth Amendment right to counsel under Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201 (1964), was not violated because he was not
interrogated by government agents when the proper standard under Supreme Court precedent is whether the government agents deliberately elicited information from him.
2. Should second statements, preceded by Miranda warnings, have been suppressed as fruits of an illegal post-indictment interview without the presence of counsel, under this Court's
decisions in Nix v. Williams, 467 U.S. 431 (1984), and Brown v. Illinois, 422 U.S. 590 (1975)?
