Waiver of a State Constitutional Right to Counsel During Post-Attachment Interrogation

This article explores state constitutional doctrine that addresses the issue of waiver of a state constitutional right to counsel during interrogation. The questions posed parallel some of the issues discussed in Patterson v. Illinois, a controversial opinion in which the U.S. Supreme Court noted that an unrepresented defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel required no more for a valid waiver than did the Fifth Amendment doctrine of Miranda v. Arizona. It discusses opinions which highlight the ethical standards which, in the view of some courts, are implicated by the scope of the constitutional right to counsel afforded by their respective states.