SG Urges High Court to Overrule Case Restricting Police Questioning

The solicitor general is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overrule a 1986 decision that restricts police questioning of suspects who have asked for a lawyer.

The Supreme Court decision, Michigan v. Jackson, generally bars police from questioning suspects who have asserted a right to legal counsel, unless a lawyer is present, the Associated Press reports. The ruling says that once a suspect has requested counsel, any waiver of that right during police questioning is not valid unless the suspect initiated communication with the officers, according to SCOTUSblog.

Solicitor General Elena Kagan wrote that the decision ''serves no real purpose'' and offers only ''meager benefits.''

A group of 19 former prosecutors and former judges has filed an amicus brief taking the other side. They include former Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson and former FBI director William Sessions.

The Supreme Court asked counsel to file briefs on whether to overrule the precedent in a case argued in January, Montejo v. Louisiana. A lawyer for death-row inmate Jesse Montejo, Donald Verrilli, responded by urging the court to retain Michigan v. Jackson. Verrilli has since joined the Justice Department, but did not participate in its brief, AP says. Past stories identified Verrilli as a lawyer at Jenner & Block.