WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that police,
under certain circumstances, can initiate an interrogation of a suspect without
the defendant's lawyer being present.
By a 5-4 vote, the conservative majority overruled a 23-year-old Supreme Court
decision that barred the police from initiating questioning after a defendant
asserted the right to an attorney at an arraignment or similar proceeding.
The 1986 decision held that once a defendant invoked the right to counsel, only
the suspect, and not the police, can initiate the contact.
The ruling was the latest in a recent string by conservative justices expanding
the power of police to question suspects.