Petition — Muzychka v. United States
Supreme Court brief1984
Ask Donna
What actually matters in this document.
Text
83-1714
No.
a
Office - Supreme Court, U.S.
FILED
APR 19 a4
IN THE LEXANDER L. STEVAS,
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED SRATES:=<___|
October Term, 1983
EUGENE MUZYCHKA,
Petitioner
Vv.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI
ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI
TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF
APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
NEIL E. JOKELSON
JEREMY T. ROSS
230 S. Broad Street
18th Floor
Philadelphia, Pa. 19102
(215) 735-7556
Attorneys for Petitioner
Of Counsel:
NICHOLAS J. NASTASI
241 South 7th Street
Philadelphia, Pa. 19106
(215) 625-2991
PACKARD PRESS / LEGAL DIVISION, 10th & SPRING GARDEN STREETS, PHILA, PA 19123 (215) 236-2000
QUESTION PRESENTED
1. Does the Sixth Amendment right to counsel at-
tach where, pursuant to a federal investigation, agents of
the Government direct State law enforcement officers to
make an arrest, when the subject is advised of, elects,
but nevertheless is denied an opportunity to consult with
counsel?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
EE en i
oo Sv ce va e-w se ce ba oe ene ame iii
i Ld 6 nneG 6000 ces thcedee bees 1
Ci, gatas Cae seb 0i4'6 aban abe 4 Srebds 2
Constitutional Provision Involved .............. 3
a 4
Reason for Granting the Writ ................. 8
I. The Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel atta-
ches where, pursuant to a federal investiga-
tion, agents of the Government direct State
law enforcement officers to make an arrest,
when the subject is advised of, elects, but never-
theless is denied an opportunity to consult
ET ee seas op oe. a ve ve he s.0-0s és 8
I adhe a a'e'k 0.6.5 de ecnes ou deees 14
Appendix:
District Court’s Bench Opinion ............ A-1
Court of Appeals Opinion ................ A-3
Order Sur Petition for Rehearing ......... A-23
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Cases Cited: Page
Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387 (1977) ....... 8
Lomax v. Alabama, 629 F.2d 413 (5th Cir. 1989),
cert. den. 450 U.S. 1002 (1981)............ 12
Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201 (1964) .. 8
United States v. Brown, 699 F.2d 585 (2d Cir.
EE etutyivore teed care ueete eres 11
United States ex. rel. Burton v. Cuyler, 439 F.Supp.
1173 (E.D. Pa. 1977), aff d. 582 F.2d 1278 (3d
ED 6 sin 6 coat Cv kh BRO ORR Oe ka 9, 10
United States v. Kenny, 645 F.2d 1323 (9th Cir.
1981), cert. den. 452 U.S. 920(1981) ...... 2)
United States v. Lilla, 534 F.Supp. 1247 (N.D.N.Y.
SN 5-4 og bck bo wee be een ee 9, 10
United States v. Matthews, 488 F.Supp. 374 (D.
Ss aes perce a eer ee ge G
United States v. Moskow, 588 F.2d 882 (3d Cir.
EE oc od 00d oth 0.6 ORL ee 4
United States v. Nashawaty, 571 F.2d 71 (lst Cir.
EN Tb whi ido akin ee ee ee Wa ee eee q
United States v. Sam Goody, Inc., 506 F.Supp. 380
Sb wdc akc ee eh awd ee ean Z)
United States v. Zazzara, 626 F.2d 135 (9th Cir.
NS og cin aU ens i ole Sgt a ea ak, i)
Statutes Cited:
Oe A er rat 4
ds SE Fs hn we hee ewe ck ac eee 4
Be Ue, SED. se ears sev steessesev tees 4
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES — (Continued)
Federal Rules Cited:
PE. IED ec obs oo 2 awe cesses
Constitutional Provisions Cited:
ce ee SO i os aa Chew bck
OTHER AUTHORITIES CITED
Kamisar, Brewer v. Williams, Massiah, and
Miranda: What is “Interrogation”? When Does
it Matter? 67 Geo.L.J. 1 (1978) ...........
White, Rhode Island v. Innis: The Significance of a
Suspect’s Assertion of the Right to Counsel 17
Am. Crim. L.Rev. 53 (1G78) ..... ccceeeeee
iv
13
IN THE
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
October Term, 1983
EUGENE MUZYCHKA,
Petitioner
v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI
TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF
APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI
TO 1HE HONORABLE CHIEF JUSTICE AND THE
ASSOCIATE JUSTICES OF THE SUPREME COURT:
Petitioner seeks a writ certiorari to review the judg-
ment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third
Circuit in this case.
OPINIONS BELOW
In the United States District Court, although no
opinion was filed, a motion to suppress tape recordings
]
2
containing petitioner’s inculpatory statements made
after his arrest was denied from the bench (App. A-1).
Following judgment of sentence a direct appeal was
taken to the Court of Appeals.
The opinion of the United States Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit is reported at 725 F.2d 1061 (App.
A-3). The court denied a request for rehearing in banc
by an Order dated February 22, 1984 (App. A-23) which
is as yet unreported.
JURISDICTION
A judgment of sentence was imposed on March 29,
1983 by the United States District Court from which di-
rect appeal was taken to the Court of Appeals.
The judgment of the Court of Appeals was entered
with opinion on January 23, 1983 (App. A-3). A Petition
for Rehearing in banc was denied on February 22, 1984
(App. A-23). The jurisdiction of this Court is invoked
under 28 U.S.C. §1254(1).
3
CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISION INVOLVED
I. The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the
United States provides in pertinent part:
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall
enjoy the right. .. to have the Assistance of Coun-
sel for his defense.”
4
STATEMENT
This federal criminal prosecution rests on a four
count indictment (C.A. App. 4a) charging petitioner,
Eugene Muzychka, with violations of 21 U.S.C.
§§841(a)(1) and 846, and 18 U.S.C. §1952.' The con-
trolled substance alleged was phenyl-2-propanone (P-2-
P), a precursor chemical used in the manufacture of
methamphetamine. Among those named in the indict-
ment were unindicted coconspirators Ronald Raiton
(“Raiton”) and Jack Naiman (“Naiman”).
Following denial by the District Court of a motion to
suppress evidence (App. A-1), petitioner entered a con-
ditional plea of guilty pursuant to United States v.
Moskow, 588 F.2d 882, 884-90 (3d Cir. 1978), reserving
the right to challenge on appeal the District Court’s rul-
ing on the suppression motion (C.A. App. 1126a-1143a).
By Opinion and Order filed January 23, 1984 (App. A-3),
the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
affirmed the District Court’s ruling
The essential facts of this case are simple and clear.
By the end of March, 1981 unindicted coconspirator
1. 21 U.S.C. §841(a)(1) provides that “it shall be unlawful for
any person knowingly or intentionally — (1) to manufacture, dis-
tribute, or dispense, . . . a controlled substance. . . .” Section 846
makes unlawful an attempt or conspiracy to violate Section 841.
18 U.S.C. §1952 provides in pertinent part:
(a) Whoever travels in interstate or foreign commerce or
uses any facility in interstate or foreign commerce, including
the mail, with intent to —
(3) otherwise promote, manage, establish, carry on,
or facilitate the promotion, management, establishment, or
carrying on, of any unlawful activity, and thereafter per-
forms or attempts to perform any of the acts specified in
subparagraphs (1), (2), and (3), shall be fined not more
than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than five years, or
both.
(b) As used in this section “unlawful activity” means (1)
any business enterprise involving . . . narcotics or controlled
substances... .
5
Naiman had been arrested by agents of the federal Drug
Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) on unrelated drug
charges. As a consequence, he began cooperating with
the Government, pursuant to a plea agreement, by as-
sisting in making cases against other persons suspected
of illegal drug activity (C.A. App. 22a-27a). In April of
1981, at the direction of the DEA, Naiman approached
petitioner in Philadelphia for the purpose of arranging a
sale of P-2-P to petitioner.
On May 18, 1981 petitioner and Naiman, while un-
der DEA surveillance, travelled to Fort Lauderdale, Flor-
ida both for the purpose of taking delivery of the P-2-P
which Naiman had agreed to sell to petitioner, and in or-
der to make a case against Raiton, Naiman’s supplier,
whom at all relevant times was a target of the DEA (C.A.
App. 807a). Petitioner did not know Raiton at this time.
An Assistant United States Attorney from Philadel-
phia, who participated in the initial decision to enter into
the agreement of cooperation with Naiman, also knew of
the planned trip to Florida and the DEA’s plan to arrest
petitioner in Florida and seize the P-2-P. (C.A. App. 39a-
53a, 800a-804a, 837a-839a; 847a).
Upon arriving in Fort Lauderdale, while petitioner
remained at the airport, Naiman met with Raiton and re-
ceived from him eight gallons of P-2-P which Naiman
placed in the trunk of a rental car. Naiman returned to
the airport and picked up petitioner, and shortly there-
after, they were stopped by Fort Lauderdale police, who
were acting at the behest of the DEA agents who had fol-
lowed petitioner and Naiman to Fort Lauderdale from
Philadelphia. The pair were told that they were under ar-
rest for having P-2-P in the car. Petitioner was
2. Unknown to the DEA, which previously had rejected
Raiton's offer to cooperate with it, Raiton at this time was informally
and selectively cooperating with the Federal Bureau of Investiga-
tion (“FBI”) in making cases against other persons suspected of il-
legal drug activity. Nevertheless, as the events of May 18, 1981 re-
vealed, Raiton himself continued to traffic in illegal drugs.
6
handcuffed and searched at the scene, asked to consent
to a search of the car, was informed of his right to remain
silent and of his right to consult with an attorney, and
was asked if he wanted to answer any questions. He did
not consent to a search of the car, declined to answer
questions, and asked to speak to a lawyer. Petitioner was
then taken to Fort Lauderdale police headquarters
where again he was informed of his right to remain si-
lent and his right to consult with an attorney and again
he was asked if he wished to answer any questions.
Again he declined to answer questions and again he
asked to speak to a lawyer. After approximately three
hours, during which time petitioner never was given the
opportunity to consult with counsel, he and Naiman
were released without explanation and they returned to
Philadelphia. (C.A. App. 1011a-1021a).
The next day, May 19, 1981, pursuant to a federal
search warrant, the DEA agenits opened the trunk of the
rental car and seized eight gallons of P-2-P. Shortly after
the return of petitioner and Naiman to Philadelphia the
DEA placed Naiman in hiding. Petitioner never received
a copy of the search warrant or the inventory of property
seized, as required by Fed.R.Crim.P. 41(d), nor was he
at any relevant time informed that the Florida arrest and
seizure occurred at the behest of federal authorities.
On June 10, 1981 Naiman testified before a grand
jury about the Florida events, thereby inculpating to-
gether petitioner and Raiton. The following day, June
11, 1981, Raiton entered into a written agreement with
the Government, through the offices of the FBI, which
formally obligated him to coc: 2rate in making cases
against suspected drug dealers. In return, the Govern-
ment promised to take into consideration the degree and
results of Raiton’s cooperation in determining what
charges should be brought against him pursuant to the
DEA’s investigation (C.A. App. 72a-75a). Accordingly, at
least as of June 11, 1981, the DEA investigation of
-
Raiton, and his Florida coconspirator. petitioner, had ter-
minated.
On June 24, 1981, at the behest of the FBI, Raiton
in Fort Lauderdale telephoned petitioner in Pennsylva-
nia. Raiton introduced himself to petitioner by asking if
petitioner had ever travelled to Florida with Naiman.
When petitioner answered affirmatively, Raiton encour-
aged him to go toa phone booth and return the call. Peti-
tioner did so and in the recorded return call, with en-
couragement from Raiton, petitioner inculpated himself
in the purchase of P-2-P from Naiman. Subsequent re-
corded conversations with Raiton in July and August of
1981 further inculpated petitioner.
8
REASON FOR GRANTING THE WRIT
i. The Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel Attaches
Where, Pursuant to a Federal Investigation, Agents of
the Government Direct State Law Enforcement Offi-
cers to Make an Arrest, When the Subject Is Advised
of, Elects, but Nevertheless Is Denied an Opportunity
to Consult with Counsel
This issue is both important and unsettled. As a fre-
quently recurring question of constitutional law the is-
sue in this case appears as one which is in confusion
amor.” the Circuit Courts of Appeals.
Petitioner contends that his Florida arrest triggered
his Sixth Amendment right to counsel so as to render his
post-arrest interrogation by Ration inadmissible under
Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201 (1964). The de-
cisions of this Court, as applied to the circumstances of
this and numerous similar cases, leave doubt as to where
the line is drawn to determine when the Sixth Amend-
ment right to counsel attaches. The result has been a
confusing and contradictory welter of opinions at both
the Court of Appeals and District Court levels. As Justice
Stewart noted with some understatement in Brewer v.
Williams, 430 U.S. 387, 388 (1977), “[t]here has occa-
sionally been a difference of opinion within the Court as
to the peripheral scope of [the Sixth Amendment rigiit to
counsel] ... Whatever else it may mean, the right to
counsel granted by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amend-
ments means at least that a person is entitled to the help
of a lawyer at or after the time that judicial proceedings
have been initiated against him . . .” (emphasis added).
The Third Circuit Court in the instant case, though
it found petitioner’s argument persuasive (App. A-11),
held that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel never
can be triggered by an arrest, no matter what the attend-
ant circumstances, since in its view “the development of
the Supreme Court's efforts toward control of police
9
methods of interrogation from Spano v. New York, 360
U.S. 315 (1959), through Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S.
436 (1966), and thereafter,” compelled the conclusion
that absent judicial proceedings there is no Sixth
Amendment right to counsel (App. A-12). Nevertheless,
as the Court acknowledged in its opinion, (App. A-19,
n.9), courts in other circuits have suggested that under
certain circumstances the right to counsel attaches
upon arrest: United States v. Kenny, 645 F.2d 1323 (9th
Cir. 1981), cert. den. 452 U.S. 920 (1981); United States
v. Zazzara, 626 F.2d 135 (9th Cir. 1980); United States
v. Nashawaty, 571 F.2d 71 (1st Cir. 1978); United
States v. Lilla, 534 F.Supp. 1247 (N.D.N.Y. 1982);
United States v. Sam Goody, Inc., 506 F.Supp. 380
(E.D.N.Y. 1981); United States v. Matthews, 488
F.Supp. 374 (D. Neb. 1980). Some of these cases merely
recite the rule without discussion*® while others fully
analyze the policies behind the right to counsel in reach-
ing their results. In United States ex rel. Burton v.
Cuyler, 439 F.Supp. 1173 (E.D. Pa. 1977), affd 582
F.2d 1278 (3d Cir. 1978), for example, the Court ana-
lyzed whether the relator had a right to lineup counsel
3. Kenny — “Where a case is still in the investigative stage, or
in the absence of a person's being charged, arrested, or indicted,
such adversary proceedings have not yet commenced and thus no
right to counsel has attached.” 645 F.2d at 1338 (emphasis added);
Zazzara — “Until the defendant has been arrested or indicted,
whatever suspicions the police might have, the defendant is not an
‘accused’, and, therefore, Massiah is inapplicable.” 626 F.2d at 138
(emphasis added); Nashawaty — “Until one or the other of those
two events [arrest or indictment] has occurred, the suspect has not
been ‘accused’ of a crime by the Government. . ." 571 F.2d at 75
(emphasis added); Sam Goody — “|I|ndictment — or arrest, if it
occurs prior to indictment — is the critical moment after which the
strictures of Massiah, supra, and its progeny apply.” 506 F.Supp. at
394 (emphasis added); Matthews — “Until either a suspect has
been arrested, or judicial proceedings initiated, however, it has
been held that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel does not at-
tach |citing Nashawaty].” 488 F.Supp. at 380-81 (emphasis added).
10
following his state arrest and held that he did under the
circumstances of that case:
!C]onsistent with the focus of Kirby on the initiation
of a prosecution, we take into account the other cir-
cumstances prior to the lineup which suggest that
the true reason for holding the lineup was to en-
hance the prosecution’s evidence, and that no inves-
tigative purpose would have been impeded by insur-
ing tha: relator had an opportunity to have counsel
present...
[B]y the time of the lineup, the [Government] had
“committed itself io prosecute, and ... the adverse
positions of government and defendant [had] solidi-
fied.” Kirby, 406 U.S. at 689, 92 S.Ct. at 1882.
Id. 439 F.Supp. at 1181 (emphasis added).
The identical analysis applies to the instant case.
There was no investigative purpose to be served by the
Florida arrest since the Government, through Naiman,
knew everything that was going to happen before it hap-
pencd and observed every action which petitioner,
Naiman, and Raiton took from the respective moments
they arrived at the Fort Lauderdale airport. The only
purpose of the arrest was to seize the corpus delicti of
the crime charged and to interrogate petitioner, who
twice declined to be interrogated and who asked instead
to speak to a lawyer.
A similar situation arose in United States v. Lilla,
534 F.Supp. 1247 (N.D.N.Y. 1982), where the Court
held that statements taken from the defendants follow-
ing their arrests pursuant to warrants, but before indict-
ment, violated the Sixth Amendment right to counsel.
The Court noted that the general rule was that the filing
of a felony complaint ordinarily did not trigger the right
to counsel, but:
Here, however, it is apparent that the law en-
forcement process had shifted from investigatory to
accusatory, in the sense that both defendants
11
seemed to have been the focus of federal grand jury
proceedings during the months preceding their ar-
rests and were otherwise the specific focus of sub-
stantial prosecution activities. Along with the in-
tent of officers to subject the defendants to
interrogation and to thereby elicit statements con-
cerning the offenses charged in the felony com-
plaints, this shift in law enforcement activities trig-
gered the defendants’ right to counsel under the
Sixth Amendment.
Id., 534 F.Supp. at 1280 (emphasis added).
Similarly, in United States v. Brown, 699 F.2d 585,
589 (2d Cir. 1983), the Second Circuit stated that
“[w]hen the government crosses the line from the inves-
tigatory to the accusatory stage {citing Lilla, supra] the
Sixth Amendment requires that the accused have the
assistance of counsel .. .,” and heid that the defendant’s
Sixth Amendment rights were violated because, inter
alia, the facts of the case left “no doubt that Shea [F.B.I.
agent] did not have an investigative purpose in arrang-
ing this pre-arraignment ‘detour’ of Brown [defendant]
for interrogation in the basement of the U.S. Marshal's
Office, .. . but was seeking to elicit an uncounseled con-
fession, a practice we have repeatedly disapproved.” Id.,
699 F.2d at 589 (citations omitted; emphasis added).
This was precisely the situation in the instant case,
where petitioner’s telephone interrogation by Raiton and
the FBI, commencing June 24, 1981, occurred at least
fifteen days after the DEA had closed its investigation of
the Florida events. The investigation closed since the
DEA had made its case against both petitioner and
Raiton upon the May 18 surveillance and seizure of P-2-
P, and upon Naiman’s apearance before the grand jury
on June 10.4 Raiton’s telephone calls of June 24 and
4. Raiton’s June 11 written agreement with the Government
ac*ordingly reflected his understanding that the Government “had”
him with respect to Florida. Petitioner had no such understanding
since the Government intentionally kept him ignorant of the true
nature of the Florida events, see p. 5-6, supra.
=e
12
thereafter accordingly had no investigative purpose
whatsoever. Rather, those calls reflected the desire of
the FBI to subject petitioner to surreptitious interroga-
tion and thereby elicit the uncounseled confession
which petitioner declined to give at the scene of his
arrest.
In Lomax v. Alabama, 629 F.2d 413 (5th Cir. 1980),
cert. den. 450 U.S. 1002 (1981), the Court held that the
petitioner's right to counsel had not attached upon the
issuance of a warrant for his arrest where the prosecu-
tor’s office was completely uninvolved with the issuance
of the warrant or the arrest itself. The prosecutor had not
filed an accusatory instrument against the arrested
individual or . . . become involved in the investiga-
tion of the accused.
... [T)here is nothing in the records of the state
court proceedings or the proceedings below that in-
dicates any involvement of the state’s prosecutorial
forces at the time the warrant was issued: there is
no evidence of a commitment to pursue prosecution
or of an awareness of petitioner’s impending
arrest ... Absent proof of significant prosecutorial
involvement in procuring an arrest warrant, the
arrest must be characterized as purely investiga-
tory — the forces of the state have not yet solidified
in a position adverse to that of the accused.
Id., at 415-16 (footnote omitted; emphasis added).
In the instant case, by contrast, the Government's
prosecutorial forces in the United States Attorney's Of-
fice in Philadelphia were heavily involved in the investi-
gation and certainly had committed themselves to pros-
ecute petitioner. It is clear that if petitioner had acceded
to the Government's attempt to interrogate him in Flor-
ida, and had confessed to Fort Lauderdale police and/or
DEA agents instead of asking to speak with a lawyer, he
would not have been released the same afternoon with-
out explanation, but rather would have been subject im-
mediately to the more formal procedures of a prosecu-
13
tion which the Government instead delayed. The delay
served its purpose; in the interim petitioner had con-
fessed to Raiton instead of to the Fort Lauderdale police
or the DEA.
In addition to the above case law, which is in opposi-
tion to the Circuit Court opinion in the instant case,
scholars support petitioner's contention that his Sixth
Amendment right to counsel attached as of his Florida
arrest. Professor Welsh White, in analyzing the policies
behind the Fifth and Sixth Amendments in light of the
realities of modern police practice, urges the following as
to when the right to counsel should attach:
A consideration of the underlying interests at
stake suggest the conclusion that the sixth amend-
ment right under Massiah should be triggered
whenever the police give a suspect the Miranda
warnings and the suspect responds by asserting his
right to counsel... Since the police will often be
completely convinced of the suspect's guilt at the
time of arrest, a formal arraignment or indictment
will not necessarily alter either their perception of
their relationship to the suspect or the tactics they
will be likely to employ in seeking to elicit a state-
ment...
White, Rhode Island v. Innis: The Significance of a Sus-
pect’s Assertion of the Right to Counsel, 17
Am.Crim.L. Rev. 53, 57-58 (1979) (emphasis added).
Professor Yale Kamisar concurs:
A forceful argument can be made that once a
suspect has specifically asserted his “Miranda right
to counsel” he is essentially in the same position as
one whose “Massiah right to counsel” has attached.
For even though attempts to “induce” a suspect to
talk or to “elicit” statements from him may not
amount to “interrogation” within the meaning of
Miranda, they may nevertheless constitute a failure
to “respect” or “honor” the exercise of Miranda
14
rights — or amount to “trickling]"” or “cajol{ing]”
one who has asserted his rights into waiving them.
See Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. at 476. Thus the
argument would run, once a suspect has asserted
his right to counsel, the “second level” Miranda
safeguards shield him from “secret agent” activity
designed to obtain incriminating statements from
him... just as much as the Massiah doctrine does
once adversary judicial proceedings have com-
menced against a suspect.
Kamisar, Brewer v. Williams, Massiah and Miranda:
What is “Interrogation?” When Does it Matter? 67
Geo.L.J. 1, 78 (n. 461) (1978) (emphasis added).
Accordingly, a writ of certiorari should be granted in
this case to allow this Court to settle this significant
question of constitutional law by announcing a clear and
workable rule as to when the right to counsel attaches.
This is necessary in order to give guidance to lower
courts, to prosecutors, to defense counsel, and to law en-
forcement authorities, who presently labor under the
confusing and conflicting rules noted above.
CONCLUSION
The petition for Writ of Certiorari should be
granted.
Respectfully submitted,
Neil E. Jokelson, Esquire
Jeremy T. Ross, Esquire
Counsel for Petitioner
Of Counsel:
Nicholas J. Nastasi, Esquire
APPENDIX
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT
COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT
OF PENNSYLVANIA
Criminal No. 82-18
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
EUGENE MUZYCHKA
BENCH OPINION OF THE
HONORABLE JOSEPH L. McGLYNN, JR.
December 15, 1982
There is no question in my mind that the govern-
ment can’t send an informant to a guy that has been ar-
rested for handling P-2-P...
The Massiah issue is a much closer issue. There’s
no question in my mind that when Mr. Muzychka was
arrested on May 18, the arresting officers were operating
under the supervision so to speak of the federal Drug
Enforcement people; that they were in effect making the
decisions; that at the time of the arrest, as Mr.
Muzychka testified, that he was told he was under arrest
for possession of P2P; that he was taken to the cell,
taken to the station house, handcuffed, he was given his
constitutional warnings, but that he was later dis-
charged —- was not charged with any drug violation, but
he was given a traffic citation.
It’s a close case, and I certainly don’t want to let it
turn on the issue of whether or not counsel attaches at
that time. I think the issue turns on whether counsel at-
tached at that time is basically a legal issue but I think
there are some additional facts which have to be decided
which I think are controlling, and that is the fact of
whether or not this was a device operated by the govern-
ment through their informants, or the people with whom
they are working, to elicit information from Mr.
A-1
A-2
Muzychka which would be detrimental to his case, that
is, seeking information without previously advising him
of his right to counsel and so forth.
I think the way I read the evidence, I think there’s
sufficient evidence in the record from which I can draw
an inference, and this is the only way I can reconcile the
testimony, I can draw an inference from the record as
it’s presented to me that Mr. Muzychka, after the experi-
ence that he had in Florida, was looking for Mr. Naiman,
or a person with whom Mr. Naiman was working, and
because of the amount of money which he lost, which I
believe at that point was some $20,000, or may have
been $47,000, I’m not sure at this point, but that he
went to the office of the enterprises which were pre-
viously operated by Mr. Raiton on Cottman Street look-
ing for the person, either Naiman or the person with
whom Naiman was dealing; that that is what triggered
the contact between Raiton and Mr. Muzychka; that Mr.
Raiton, however he got the information, was advised
that Mr. Muzychka was looking not necessarily for him,
but was looking for somebody in connection with this
thing that happened in Florida, and that as a result of
that, Mr. Raiton called Mr. Muzychka, and the conversa-
tion of June 24, 1981 ensued.
So on that basis I rule this does not come within the
proscription of Massiah and I'll deny the motion.
A-3
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
No. 83-1246
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
EUGENE MUZYCHKA,
Appellant
(D.C. Criminal No. 82-00018)
ON 4PPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES
DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA
Argued: November 28, 1983
Before: GIBBONS and SLOVITER., Circuit Judges
and CALDWELL, District Judge*
(Opinion Filed: January 23, 1984)
NEIL E. JOKELSON, ESQ. (Argued)
JEREMY T. ROSS, ESQ.
215 South Broad Street
Suite 60l
Philadelphia. PA 19107
Attorneys for Appellant
*Hon.William W. Caldwell. United States District Judge for (he
Middle District of Pennsylvania. sitting ov designation.
A-4
EDWARD S. G. DENNIS, JR.
United States Attorney
WALTER S. BATTY, JR.
Assistant U.S. Attorney
Chief of Appeais
WILLIAM B. CARR, JR. (Argued)
Assistant U.S. Attorney
Room 3310, United States Courthouse
60! Market Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Attorneys for Appellee
GIBBONS, Circuit Judge:
Eugene Muzychka appeals from a judgment of
sentence imposed following a conditional guilty plea to
charges of violating 21 U.S.C. §§ 84l(a)(1), 846 (1982) and
18 U.S.C. § 1952 (1982).' Muzychka’s plea reserved the
right to object on appeal to the district court's rulings on
motions to suppress evidence. See United States v.
Moskow, 588 F.2d 882, 884-90 (3d Cir. 1978).
Muzychka contended (1) that Massiah v. United States.
377 U.S. 201 (1964), required the suppression of certain
1. 21U.S.C. § 841(aX1) (1982) provides that it “shall be unlawful
for any person knowingly or intentionally -- (1) to manufacture,
distribute, or dispense. or possess with intent to manufacture,
distribute, or dispense, a controlled substance... .” Section 846
makes unlawful an attempt or conspiracy to violate section 84].
18 U.S.C. § 1952 (1982) provides in pertinent part:
(a) Whoever travels in interstate or foreign
commerce or uses any facility in interstate or foreign
commerce, including the mail. with intent to --
(1) distribute the proceeds of any unlawful activity: or
(2) commit any crime of violence to further any unlawful
activity: or
A-5
evidence obtained by the government after May 18, 198],
and (2) that United States v. Starks, 515 F.2d ll2 (3d Cir.
1975), and Government of the Virgin Islands v.
Testamark, 570 F.2d 1162 (3d Cir. 1978), required the
suppression of other evidence obtained prior to that
date. The trial court denied both motions. We agree with
those rulings, and we affirm.
I.
Muzychka’s difficulties with the law grow out of his
dealings with Jack Naiman and Ronald Raiton. Those
dealings occurred, unfortunately for Muzychka, at
times when both Naiman and Raiton were cooperating
with the government by distributing phenyl-2-
propanone (P-2-P) to customers who would use that
substance in the manufacture of methamphetamine, a
controlled substance. By the spring of 1981, both Raiton
and Naiman had been arrested on drug charges and
were cooperating, pursuant to plea agreements, in
obtaining evidence against potential P-2-P purchasers.
In April of 1981, Naiman approached Muzychka in
Philadelphia for the purpose of arranging a sale of P-2-P.
On May 6 they met and, in a conversation tape recorded
by Naiman, Muzychka agreed to purchase twelve gallons
of P-2-P. On May 14 Muzychka delivered to Naiman
(3) otherwise promote, manage. establish, carry on, or
facilitate the promotion, management, establishment, or
carrying on, of any unlawful activity.
and thereafter performs or attempts to perform any of the acts
specified in subparagraphs (1), (2). and (3), shall be fined not
more than %10,.000 or imprisoned for not more than five years, or
both.
b) As used in this section “unlawful activity” means (1) any
business enterprise involving . . . narcotics or controlled
substances....
28 U.S.C. 8 1952 (1982).
A-6
$20,000 in partial payment for the anticipated
twelve-gallon shipment. This May 14 conversation was
also recorded.
On May 18, Muzychka and Naiman traveled to Fort
Lauderdale, Florida, for the purpose of obtaining
delivery of twelve gallons of P-2-P from Naiman's
supplier, Ronald Raiton. At that time Muzychka did not
yet know Raiton. Raiton could only deliver eight gallons,
for which Muzychka paid Naiman an additional
$18,500. Naiman placed these eight gallons of P-2-P in
the trunk of a rented car which Muzychka intended to
drive to Philadelphia.
Unknown to Muzychka, however, he and Naiman
were under surveillance by an agent of the Federal Drug
Enforcement Administration. That agent obtained the
cooperation of Fort Lauderdale police, who stopped the
rented car driven by Muzychka soon after it left the Fort
Lauderdale airport. Muzychka proved to have no driver's
license; Fort Lauderdale police officers then arrested
him and took him to the Fort Lauderdale police
headquarters. At the time of the arrest, police informed
Muzychka that he had been arrested for possession of
P-2-P. Although Muzychka was detained for several
hours, Fort Lauderdale police later released him without
explanation. Florida authorities lodged no formal
charges against Muzychka -- either for driving without a
license or for possession of P-2-P. The rented car and its
contents were impounded.
Muzychka returned to Philadelphia, where on June
24, 1981 he received an unexpected telephone call from
Raiton. That call was inspired by officials of the Federal
Drug Enforcement Administration. Raiton introduced
himself to Muzychka by asking if Muzychka had ever
traveled to Florida with Naiman. When Muzychka
answered affirmatively, Raiton encouraged him to
return the call from a phone booth. Muzychka took the
bait and called Raiton. The return call was recorded. In
A-7
this conversation, with encouragement from Raiton,
Muzychka incriminated himself in the purchase of
P-2-P from Naiman. Subsequent recorded telephone
conversations between Muzychka and Raiton during
July and August, 1981, further incriminated Muzychka.
Eventually Muzychka paid Raiton %28,000 for what
Raiton represented (falsely) to be an additional eight
gallons of P-2-P. It is undisputed that all the
conversations between Raiton and Muzychka were
made while Raiton was acting as an informant for the
Drug Enforcement Administr:‘ton. It is also
undisputed that all the conversations with Raiton
occurred after Muzychka’s arrest on May 18, 198].
II.
Muzychka contends that his interrogation by
Raiton violated the sixth amendment right recognized
in Massiah v. United States. 377 U.S. 201 (1964). That
case holds that the sixth amendment right to counsel
prohibits the use at trial against a defendant of
statements elicited by government agents in the
absence of counsel after that sixth amendment right
has attached. Muzychka urges that the Massiah right to
counsel attached on May 18, 1981, when the Drug
Enforcement Administration caused Fort Lauderdale
police to arrest him for possession of P-2-P obtained
from Naiman and Raiton. Although the government
urged that the Fort Lauderdale arrest was for a traffic
offense, the district court found as a fact that he had
been arrested for handling P-2-P. The government does
not dispute that finding.
In rejecting Muzychka’s Massiah contention.
however. the district court relied upon the fact that
Muzychka had initiated the contact with Raiton by
trying to reach Naiman. That effort. the court
concluded, sufficed to take the case out of the Massiah
rationale. The government does not attempt to defend
A-8
this rationale, and we reject it. The undisputed facts are
that Raiton was cooperating with the government
pursuant to an agreement made on June ll, 1981, and
that he deliberately elicited evidence connecting
Muzychka with the P-2-P seized in Florida. As it
happens, the record shows that Raiton himself initiated
the call to Muzychka. However, even if Muzychka had
initiated the call to Raiton, that fact would have been
irrelevant. If the sixth amendment right has attached
and a government agent has deliberately elicited
information from the defendant in the absence of
counsel, then the fact that one or another of the parties
had initiated the conversation is immaterial. See
Beatty v. United States, 389 U.S. 45 (1967), rev'g per
curiam Beatty v. United States, 377 F.2d 181, 188-90
(Sth Cir. i967); United States v. Anderson, 523 F.2d
1192, 1196 n.3 (5th Cir. 1975); Kamisar, Brewer v.
Williams, Massiah, and Miranda: What is
“Interrogation”? When Does it Matter?, 67 Geo. L.J. |,
44 n.286 (1978). Thus we must decide whether the sixth
amendment right recognized in Massiah had attached
at the time Raiton recorded the telephone conversations
with Muzychka.
III.
On the basis of a search of a vessel, federal agents
arrested, arraigned, and later indicted Winston Massiah
for narcotics possesion. Massiah retained a lawyer.
pleaded not guilty. and was released on bail. Federal
officials also charged Jesse Colson with possession of
narcotics and with having conspired with Massiah.
Colson later permitted government agents to install a
radio transmitter under the seat of his automobile.
Massiah entered the automobile and made a number of
incriminating statements to Colson. A federal agent ina
nearby car equipped with a radio receiver overheard this
conversation and testified to Massiah’s remarks at trial.
A-9
The Supreme Court held that the introduction of
Massiah’'s remarks at trial elicited from him after his
indictment and in the absence of counsel violated the
sixth amendment. Writing for the court, Justice
Stewart relied principally upon the concurring opinions
of four Justices? in Spano v. New York, 360 U.S. 315
(1959). These “four concurring Justices.” Justice
Stewart wrote, “pointed out that the Constitution
required reversal of the conviction upon the sole and
specific ground that the confession had been
deliberately elicited by the police after the defendant had
been indicted, and therefore at a time when he was
clearly entitled to a lawyer's help.” 377 U.S. at 204.
“Anything less, Justice Stewart reasoned, “might deny
a defendant ‘effective representation by counsel at the
only stage when legal aid and advice would help him.”
Id, quotingSpano v. New York. 360 U.S. 315, 326 (1959)
(Douglas, J.. concurring). Officials had “deliberately
elicited’ from Massiah, as they had from Spano,
incriminating remarks after those defendants had been
indicted. 377 U.S. at 204, 206. Consequently, the Court
concluded, the sixth amendment had been violated by
the introduction at trial of Massiah's incriminating
2. See Spano v. New York. 360 U.S. 315. 324 (1959) (Douglas.
J.. joined by Black & Brennan. J.J.): id. at 326 (Stewart. J.. joined by
Douglas & Brennan, J.J.).
3. Massiah may well have been subject to “interrogation” by
Colson -- albeit not “custodial” interrogation -- within what would
later become the meaning of Miranda v. Arizona. 384 U.S. 436 (1966).
However. such interrogation” within the meaning of Miranda ts not
required by Massiah. See United States v. Henry. 447 U.S. 264.
271-72 (1980). The operative language of Massiah is that of
“deliberate! elicittation|.” 377 U.S. at 204. 206: see Brewer v
Williams, 430 U.S. 387. 399 (1977). Conduct not rising to the level of
interrogation may nevertheless satisfy (he “deliberately elicited test
of Massiah. See Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291. 300 n.4 (1980):
Kamisar. supra. 67 Geo. L.J, at 6. 37-55
A-10
words, “deliberately elicited from him after he had been
indicted and in the absence of his counsel." Id. at 206.
The Supreme Court has not confined the sixth
amendment right to counsel established in Massiah to
the period following an indictment. Rather, the Court
has held that the Massiah right to counsel attaches
upon the commencement of “adversary judicial criminal
proceedings” against an accused. See Kirby uv. Illinois,
406 U.S. 682, 689 (1972) (plurality opinion); Moore v.
Illinots, 434 U.S. 220, 226-27 (1977) (adopting language
of Kirbu plurality). Thus, it is settled that the sixth
amendment right to counsel attaches at an arraignment
if under the applicable rules important proceedings may
take place which could disadvantage the defendant. See
White v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 59, 59-60 (1963) (per
curiam); Hamilton v. Alabama, 368 U.S. 52, 53-54
(1961). Moreover, the sixth amendment right to counsel
attaches at a preliminary hearing. See Moore v. Illinois.
434 U.S. 220, 228 (1977); Coleman v. Alabama, 399
U.S. 1, 7-9 (1970). Rule 5(b) of the Federal Rules of
Criminal Procedure authorizes arraignments before a
United States Magistrate for certain misdemeanors.
The procedures specified in the Rules of Procedure for
the Trial of Minor Offenses before United States
Magistrates which are thereby applicable clearly
implicate the sixth amendment right to counsel. See
Fed. Mag. R. Crim. P. 2. Rule 5.1 provides for
preliminary examinations, and proceedings under that
rule fall within Coleman v. Alabama. See Fed. R. Crim.
P. 5.1(a) (right to cross-examine witnesses and
introduce evidence); 5.1(b) (defendant may be
discharged upon showing of no probable cause): Moore
v. Illinots, 434 U.S. 220, 228 (1977): Gerstein v. Pugh.
420 U.S. 103, 122-23 (1975) (right to counsel attaches
under these circumstances).‘ Thus, if Raiton's
4. The decision in United States v. Ammar. 714 F.2d 238 (3d
Cir. 1983), where we stated that the sixth amendment right to
A-11
interrogation had occurred after arraignment,
preliminary hearing. or indictment, the Maissah rule
would apply. Raiton’s inducements to incrimination
were more than sufficient to satisfy the Massiah
standard, See United States v. Henry. 447 U.S. 264,
270-74 (1980); Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387,
399-401 (1977); note 3, supra.
In this instance, however, although Muzychka was
arrested for possession of P-2-P, he was neither
arraigned nor presented for preliminary hearing on that
or any other charge until after Raiton had elicited
information from him, Muzychka nevertheless urges
that the Massiah rule should apply to Raiton’'s
post-arrest elicitation of evidence in this case. He
presses two arguments in this respect. First, Muzychka
maintains that his arrest by Florida officers at the
behest of federal agents alone triggered the right to
counsel, He argues persuasively that once he was the
target of the Drug Enforcement Administration, he was
in need of counsel, especially counsel who might warn
him about self-incrimination, Second, Muzychka urges
that if his arrest alone did not trigger the right to
counsel, then the arrest coupled with the circumstances
of Raiton’s deception together triggered the sixth
amendment right. Muzychka notes that federal agents
tempted him to solicit information from Raiton by
counse! “does not extend to the pre-indictment period. “id. at 261, is
not to the contrary. In that case, the challenged conversation
occurred before Judith Ammars arrest, id. at 244, and therefore
before any Rule 5 | preliminary hearing. The statement inAmmar at
Pp 26ltowhich the government refers was made in the context of the
fact situation before the court and nothing tin that opinion indicates
that the court was enunciating a general proposition (hat the sixth
amendment right to counsel does not attach after a Rule 5.1
Preliminary hearing As indicated in the text above, tt is clear that
the VMassiah right ') counsel attaches after the first adversary
judicial proceeding
A-12
concealing the circumstances surrounding Muzychka’'s
release by Florida officials after his arrest on May 18.
Absent a sixth amendment right to counsel,
Muzychka had no constitutional right to be free from
governmental investigation. See Hoffa v. United States.
385 U.S. 293, 300-04 (1966).* Thus his claim for
suppression of the Raiton recordings depends on
whether a sixth amendment right to counsel attached at
the time of his conversations with Raiton. In resolving
that issue it is appropriate to consider the development
of the Supreme Court's efforts toward control of police
methods of interrogation from Spano v, New York, 360
U.S. 315 (1959), through Miranda v, Arizona, 384 U.S
436 (1966), and thereafter.
A.
In 1959 a unanimous Supreme Court reversed a
conviction in a murder case on the ground that the state
trial court should not have adm.tted the defendant's
confession, The majority of the court, in an opinion by
Chief Justice Warren, held that admission of the
confession violated the fifth amendment privilege
against self-incrimination because, uncer the totality of
the circumstances, it was involuntary. Spano v, New
York, 360 U.S. 315, 323-24 (1959). Justices Black,
Douglas, Brennan, and Stewart conc arred in the
judgment, but on the separate ground that the
confession, whether voluntary or not, shou!d not have
been admitted because it had been obtained in the
absence of counsel after the sixth amendment right to
counsel had attached. In Spano the interrogation
oveurred after an indictment hac been returned, 360
5. No argument is made that Muzychka was ‘in custody’ or
was subject to ‘custodial interrogation within the meaning of
Miranda vy Arizona, 384 US. 436 (1966)
A-13
U.S. at 325 (Douglas, J., concurring); id. at 327
(Stewart, J., concurring).
The position of Justices Black, Douglas, Brennan,
and Stewart -- that the sixth amendment prohibits the
use of statements obtained in the absence of counsel by
government interrogation after indictment -- did not
attract a majority in the Supreme Court until the
resignations, in the October 1961 Term, of Justices
Frankfurter and Whittaker. In the October 1963 Term,
the minority view inSpano v. New York became the law
when Chief Justice Warren and Justice Goldberg joined
Justice Stewart's opinion of the Court in Masstah v.
United States, 377 U.S. 201 (1964). Like Spano, the
governmental interrogation in Massiah occurred after
indictment. Since Massiah, it has been settled that the
sixth amendment right to counsel attaches no later
than indictment, and that statements deliberately
elicited by the government in the absence of counsel are
thereafter inadmissable. Justice Stewart's analysis in
Massiah, it must be noted, related the exclusion of such
evidence to the effectiveness of counsel after the
commencement of judicial proceedings, and not to the
reliability of the defendant's statements alone.
Voluntariness, and thus reliability, were for Justice
Stewart fifth amendment rather than sixth amendment
issues, at least until the commencement of judicial
proceedings. After that time, Justice Stewart saw the
right to counsel as a requisite for the protection of fifth
amendment values.
Although Spano involved post-indictment
interrogation, a plausible reading of the concurring
opinions in that case is that the four concurring
Justices were attempting to develop a per se rule
respecting interrogation, based on interference by the
police with the right to effective counsel, which would
have avoided the often difficult and time-consuming
A-14
litigation over issues of voluntariness. After the Spano
minority became a majority in Massiah, Justice
Stewart's opinion of the Court, although written
narrowly, could plausibly have been read as addressing
this same concern by utilizing the sixth amendment
right to counsel as a basis for a per se prohibition
against interrogation by government agents when an
investigation became focused on an individual.
A month later, however, Justice Stewart made it
clear that this was not the direction in which he would
move, The occasion was his dissent in Escobedo v.
Illinois, 378 U.S. 478 (1964), in which Justice Stewart
distinguished Massiah because it involved ‘the
deliberate interrogation of a defendant after the
initiation of judicial proceedings against him.” 378
U.S, at 493 (Stewart, J.. dissenting) (emphasis added).
“Under our system of criminal justice.” he observed,
“the institution of formal, meaningful judicial
proceedings, by way of indictment, information, or
arraignment, marks the point at which a criminal
investigation has ended and adversary proceedings
have commenced. It is at this point that the
constitutional guarantees attach which pertain to a
criminal trial." Id. at 493-94.
The opinion of the Court in Escobedo v. Illinois.
written by Justice Goldberg. represents the high
watermark of the movement in the Supreme Court to
control police methods of interrogation through the
sixth amendment, Justice Goldberg noted that the
interrogation took place before the defendant was
indicted:
But in the context of this case, that fact should
make no difference. When petitioner requested, and
was denied, an opportunity to consult with his
lawyer, the investigation had ceased to be a general
investigation ot a.: unsolved crime. Spano v. New
A-15
York, 360 U.S. 315, 327 [(1959)) (Stewart, J.,
concurring). Petitioner had become the accused,
and the purpose of the interrogation was to “get
him” to confess his guilt despite his constitutional
right not to do so.
The “guiding hand of counsel” was essential to
advise petitioner of his rights in this delicate
situation. Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 69
((1932)]. This was the “stage when legal aid and
advice were most critical to petitioner.” Massiah v.
United States, supra, at 204. It was a stage surely as
critical as wus the arraignment in Hamilton v.
Alabama, 368 U.S. 52 [(1961)], and the preliminary
hearing in White v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 59 [(1963)
(per curiam)).
378 U.S. at 485, 486. In Escobedo the defendant, while
in custody, asked to consult with his attorney, and the
precise holding is limited to that state of facts:
We hold, therefore, that where, as here, the
investigation is no longer a general inquiry into an
unsolved crime but has begun to focus on a
particular suspect, the suspect has been taken into
police custody, the police carry ovt a process of
interrogations that lends itself to eliciting
incriminating statements, the suspect has
requested and been denied an opportunity to
consult with his lawyer, and the police have not
effectively warned him of his absolute
constitutional right to remain silent, the accused
has been denied “the Assistance of Counsel” in
violation of the Sixth Amendment....
378 U.S. at 490-9].
The precise holding in Escobedo does not protect
A-16
Muzychka because, although Raiton’s interrogation
clearly took place at an accusatory stage (Muzychka had
already been arrested with P-2-P in his constructive
possession), Muzychka was not, at the time of his
conversation with Raiton. in police custody, nor had he
requested and been denied an opportunity to consult
with counsel. Justice Goldberg's reasoning in
Escobedo, however, that the sixth amendment right to
counse! attached once the defendant was the target of
an investigaiion, could with very little strain have been
extended to a per se prohibition against governmental
interrogation in the absence of counsel once an
investigation evolved to the stage of an accusation
which resulted in an arrest.
When the Supreme Court next addressed police
interrogation, Justice Goldberg, author of Escobedo.
was no longer a member. It is clear from the briefs filed
in connection with the four cases decided in Miranda v.
Arizona. 384 U.S. 436 (1966), and from the argument of
counse]l, that all involved saw in Escobedo the potential
for a holding that all post-arrest interrogation by
government agents in the absence of counsel was
prohibited by the sixth amendment.® That was not to
be. Instead the court completely changed direction.
abandoning the sixth amendment as a basis for contro!
of post-arrest, pre-indictment interrogation by
government agents. Although the name Miranda still
evokes emotional reactions in some law enforcement
quarters, the decision actually represents a major
retreat from the Court's movement with respect to
control of interrogation practices from Spano v. New
6. See. e.g.. Brief for American Civil Liberties Union. Ainicus
Curiae, at 10-31: arguments of counsel reprinted in Y. Kamisur. W
LaFave & J Israel. Modern Criminal Procedure 572-78 (5th ed
1980).
A-17
York through Escobedo v. Illinois. Instead of moving
the sixth amendment right to counsel forward to the
arrest stage, and prohibiting governmental
interrogation in the absence of counsel thereafter as a
matter of law, the Court affirmatively authorized such
interrogation. The privilege against self-incrimination
was identified as primarily, if not solely, a fifth
amendment problem, and fifth amendment interests
were protected by imposing the requirement of a
pre-interrogation ritualistic and largely ineffective’
warning. Even the warning requirement was applied
only to custodial interrogation.
Miranda represented the Supreme Court's first
step toward the adoption of Justice Stewart's dissenting
position in Escobedo. Although the Court rebuffed
Justice Stewart's view that the sixth amendment has no
applicability to pre-indictment interrogation, it also
declined the invitation to require the presence of
counsel during all post-arrest interrogation. The precise
holding in Escobedo -- that custodial interrogation in
the absence of counsel may not continue when an
accused requests counsel -- was not overruled. Rather,
as Professor Kamisar has put it, “by moving from a right
to counsel base in Escobedo to a self-incrimination
base, ‘Miranda (did) not [enlarge] Escobedo as much as
it... displaced it.’” Kamisar, supra, 67 Geo. L.J. at 26:
see id. at 25 n.145, 40, 79 n.464. As noted above, no
claim has been made that Muzychka was interrogated in
custody or that his statements were admitted in
violation of Miranda.
7. The effectiveness of Miranda warnings is discussed in
Griffiths & Ayres. A Postscript to the Miranda Project: Interrogation
of Draft Protesters. 77 Yale L.J. 300, 310-ll (1967): and Gibbons,
Practical Prophylaxis and Appellate Methodology: The
Exclustonary Rule as a Case Study tn the Dectstonal Process. 3
Seton Hall L. Rev. 295, 314 (1972).
A-18
Although Miranda foreshadowed a retreat to
Justice Stewart's position in Escobedo, it did not
preordain that retreat. United States v. Wade, 388 U.S.
218 (1967) -- in which the court established the right to
counsel at a post-indictment lineup without relying on
the existence of an indictment as a trigger for the right
to counsel -- seemed to confirm that view.® Nevertheless,
Justice Stewart's vision of the function of the sixth
amendment in the protection of other constitutional
values commanded a plurality of the Court in Kirby v.
Illinois, 406 U.S. 682, 688-90 (1972), and majorities of
the Court in Moore v. Illinois, 434 U.S. 220, 226-27
(1977), and Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387. 398
(1977). These cases hold that the right to counsel!
attaches “‘at or after the initiation of adversary judicial
criminal proceedings -- whether by way of formal
charge, preliminary hearing, indictment, information.
or arraignment.” Moore, 434 U.S. at 226, quoting
Kirby. 406 U.S. at 689.
B.
In light of these holdings, it cannot be maintained
that the right to counsel was triggered solely by
8. In Wade the Court increased the sophistication of tts
analysis of the right to counsel in two respects wholly independent of
the commencement of adversary judicial proceedings. First. the
Court seized upon the sixth amendment guaranty of the right of the
accused to have the assistance of counsel “for his defence.” holding
that this language guaranties assistance by counsel “whenever
necessary to assure a meaningful ‘defence.'” 388 U.S. at 225. In this
respect the Court expanded on the holding of Escobedo. pressing the
sixth amendment into service to protect values other than the
privilege against self-incrimination when necessary for a
“meaningful defence” at “critical stages” of the proceedings. Second.
the Cc urt evaluated the necessity for counsel at a “critical stage” in
light of the effectiveness that cross-examination would have at trial
in the event counsel were absent from thai stage. Id. at 230-32. In
A-19
Muzychka’'s arrest by Florida authorities. That battle
was waged and decided decisively in Miranda. There the
Court declined to require the presence of counsel! at all
post-arrest interrogation, despite the argument that the
presence of counsel was necessary to protect the rizht to
be free of compelled incrimination. To the extent that
some courts have suggested in dicta that an arrest alone
marks the commencement of adversary judicial
proceedings within the meaning of Massiah. we cannot
agree.°
Nor can we agree that the right to counsel was
triggered by Muzychka’s arrest by Florida authorities
coupled with the circumstances surrounding Raiton's
conservations with him. Muzychka’s argument is
essentially that the government's technique of eliciting
information from him was inherently coercive, and that
counsel should have been present to insulate him
against that coercion. These are fifth amendment
values whose protection, before the commencement of
adversary judicial proceedings, is now exhausted by
Miranda and the due process and self-incrimination
clauses. See Stovall v. Denno, 388 U.S. 293, 301-02
(1967). It is at this date too late to advocate the
impressment of the sixth amendment right to counsel
in the service of fifth amendment values before the
addition, the Court continued the practice, begun in Massiah and
Escobedo, of evaluating the salutary effect of the presence of counsel
during critical phases of the proceedings. Id. at 232-35. These
analyses were not dependent on the existence vel non of an
indictment.
9. See United States v. Kenny. 645 F.2d 1323, 1338 (9th C!>.).
cert. dented, 452 U.S. 920 (1981); United States v. Zazzara. 626 F.2d
135, 138 (9th Cir. 1980); United States v. Nashawaty, 571 F.2d 71,
74-75 (1st Cir. 1978): United States v. Sam Goody, Inc., 506 F. Supp.
380. 394 (E.D.N.Y. 1981): United States v. Matthews. 488 F. Supp.
374. 380-81 (D. Neb. 1980).
A-20
commencement of adversary judicial proceedings. Until
adversary judicial proceedings have commenced,
coercive methods of eliciting information from a
defendant are governed by Miranda and due process
and self-incrimination analyses. '°
Muzychka also relies on the holding of United
States ex rel. Burton v. Cuyler, 439 F. Supp. 1173,
1179-82 (E.D. Pa. 1977). That case holds that the
issuance of a state arrest warrant may, under the
applicable state law, constitute the commencement cf
adversary judicial proceedings within the meaning of
Massiah. We have no occasion io consider whether an
arrest warrant issued under state law may constitute
the commencement of formal judicial proceedings when
State law regards the issuance of an arrest warrant as
the equivalent »f an indictment. It is undisputed that
Florida authorities issued no arrest warrant for
Muzychka in this case.'!
Because Muzychka was not in custody, Raiton’s
interrogation did not require Miranda warnings.
Because no adversary judicial proceedings had occurred
prior to Raiton’'s elicitations, the sixth amendment rule
announced in Massiah does not apply. Thus the court
0. Muzychka did not urge that the use of Raiton’s deceptions
in obtaining evidence violated due process. Such a contention
would, on this record, evidently be foreclosed by United States v.
Jannotti, 673 F.2d 578, 606-10 (3d Cir.) (in banc), cert. dented. 457
U.S. 1106 (1982).
11. Muzychka also relies on United States v. Lilla. 534 F
Supp. 1247, 1280 (N.D.N.Y. 1982), affd in part and rev'd tn parton
other grounds, 699 F.2d 99 (2d Cir. 1983). holding that under
certain circumstances the filing of a federal felony complaint may
constitute the commencement of adversary judicial proceedings. In
that case arrest warrants had been issued against the defendants
under Fed. R. Crim. P. 5(a) before the time of the challenged
conversations. Jd. at 1275. We have no occasion to decide whether
the issuance of an arrest warrant under Fed. R. Crim. P. 5{a) may
constitute the commencement of aciversary judicial proceedings.
But see Kamisar, supra. 67 Geo. L.J. at 85-86 n. 503.
A-21
did not err in denying the motion to suppress the Raiton
tapes.
IV.
Muzychka also moved to suppress the tape
recordings made by Naiman prior to the arrest in Fort
Lauderdale. The ground for this motion is that since not
all of his conversations with Naiman in April and May of
1981 were recorded, none of those recorded should be
admitted. Muzychka does not contend that the
unrecorded conversations were exculpatory. Nor does
he contend that tape recordings were destroyed either
deliberately or by inadvertance. Thus his claim does not
fit within the due process rationale of Brady v.
Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87 (1963), and United States v.
McCrane, 547 F.2d 204, 205-08 (3d Cir. 1976) (per
curiam). Rather, he placed principal reliance on United
States v. Starks, 515 F.2d Il2 (3d Cir. 1975), and
Government of the Virgin Islands v. Testamark, 570
F.2d 162 (3d Cir. 1978). Neither case affords a ground for
suppression of the Naiman tapes which were made.
In United States v. Starks, this court laid down
standards of authentication to be met by the
proponents of tape recordings offered in evidence. 515
F.2d at 121-22. Those recordings which the government
proposed to offer in this case were authenticated. There
is no evidence that they were altered so as to give a
misleading account of the recorded conversations. The
absence of other recordings does not bear upon the
authenticity of the recordings which were made.
In Government of the Virgin Islands v. Testamark,
we dealt with the failure of the police to preserve a
sample of the defendant's blood which would have been
relevant to the defense of intoxication. We held that the
loss or destruction of that evidence deprived the
defendant of the right to compulsory process, and
violated fundamental fairness, because no other
evidence could substitute for the lost blood sample. 570
A-22
F.2d at 1166. For two reasons, Testamark is not
controlling here. First, no tape recordings were lost or
destroyed; rather, they were never made. Second, there
is another means available for establishing what
occurred during the unrecorded conversations with
Naiman. Naiman can be subpoened, or Muzychka can
testify.
What Muzychka proposes is essentially aper se rule
that when the government utilizes an informant to
record conversations with a target of an investigation, it
must record all such conversations or none may be
admitted. There is no justification for such a rule. Fed.
R. Evid. 403 gives the court discretion: to exclude
relevant evidence on the ground that it presents an
unfairly edited version of a series of transactions. There
was no abuse of discretion in denying the suppression
motion here, since no showing was made that the
unrecorded conversations would have been
exculpatory, or would have tended to make the recorded
conversations seem less inculpatory. Moreover
Muzychka was free to argue that selective recordation
bore on the weight which a factfinder should attach to
what was heard on the tapes.
IV.
Since the trial court did not err in denying the
suppression motions addressed to either the Raiton or
the Naiman tapes, the judgment of sentence will be
affirmed.
A True Copy:
Teste:
Clerk of the United States Coun oj Appeals
Jor the Third Circutt
1IAO CS Courts. G MC. irtatiuig. Pte. Pa 25S. We dees
A-23
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
NO. 83-1246
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
EUGENE MUZYCHKA,
Appellant
(D.C. Crim. No. 82-00018)
SUR PETITION FOR REHEARING
Present: SEITZ, Chief Judge, ALDISERT, ADAMS,
GIBBONS, HUNTER, WEIS, GARTH,
HIGGINBOTHAM, SLOVITER AND
BECKER, Circuit Judges and CALDWELL,
District Judge*
The petition for rehearing filed by appellant in the
above entitled case having been submitted to the judges
who participated in the decision of this court and to all
the other available circuit judges of the circuit in regular
active service, and no judge who concurred in the deci-
sion having asked for rehearing, and a majority of the
circuit judges of the circuit in regular active service not
*Hon. Wiliam W. Caldwell, United States District Judge for
the Middle District of Pennsylvania, on panel rehearing only.
A-24
having voted for rehearing by the court in banc, the peti-
tion for rehearing is denied.
By the Court,
/s/ GIBBONS
Judge
Dated: Feb. 22, 1984
| eam ep ence |)
This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.