If a suspect explicitly requests an attorney during custodial questioning, may a different officer question the suspect about a separate offense without the suspect initiating contact?

If a suspect explicitly requests an attorney during custodial questioning, may a different officer question the suspect about a separate offense without the suspect initiating contact?

• A. Yes, with a waiver.
• B. Yes, regardless.
• C. No, interrogation must cease until counsel is present or contacted.
• D. Only if the suspect agrees in writing.

Answer: (C)

When a suspect in custody explicitly asks for an attorney, the interrogation must stop. This protection is to ensure the suspect can consult counsel and avoid any coercion or pressured waiver of rights. Because of that invoked right, officers may not continue questioning about any offense until counsel is present or the suspect initiates contact or waives rights again. In other words, the rule isn’t satisfied by a different officer asking about a separate offense; the questioning must cease until the proper conditions for resuming—counsel present or suspect initiating contact—are met. Writing a waiver isn’t a required step to permit further questioning in this context.

When a suspect in custody explicitly asks for an attorney, the interrogation must stop. This protection is to ensure the suspect can consult counsel and avoid any coercion or pressured waiver of rights. Because of that invoked right, officers may not continue questioning about any offense until counsel is present or the suspect initiates contact or waives rights again. In other words, the rule isn’t satisfied by a different officer asking about a separate offense; the questioning must cease until the proper conditions for resuming—counsel present or suspect initiating contact—are met. Writing a waiver isn’t a required step to permit further questioning in this context.