Ardia v. McCree v. Vernon Housewright, Director, Arkansas Department of Correction

STEPHENSON, Senior Circuit Judge.

The question presented in this habeas corpus action is whether petitioner’s video taped statement concerning a murder was improperly obtained by the police after petitioner had invoked his right to counsel. 1 Petitioner alleges that his rights under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments were violated in the procedure leading up to the statement. The district court 2 concluded that because petitioner initiated communication with the police and because he knowingly and intelligently waived his right to counsel, this statement was properly admitted into evidence.…