Whether the Sixth Amendment right to counsel was violated when a jail informant recorded conversations with the accused about his pending case after being authorized and equipped by police

QUESTION PRESENTED In a line of decisions beginning with Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201, 205 (1964), the Supreme Court held that the Sixth Amendment right to counsel protects an accused from surreptitious interrogation by individuals, including jail informants, who are cooperating with police. See also United States v. Henry, 447 U.S. 264, 274 (1980); Maine v. Moulton, 474 U.S. 159, 176-77 (1985); Kuhlmann v. Wilson, 477 U.S. 436, 459 (1986). The question presented is: Whether, for purposes of determining if an accused’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel was violated, a jail informant is considered a state agent where police expressly authorize the informant to record conversations with the accused about his pending case, equip the informant with a recording device and secure the recordings as evidence that is then used against the accused at trial. -i