Wyrick v. Fields

In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, over a dissent by Judge Ross, directed that respondent Edward Fields’ petition for a writ of habeas corpus be granted; it did so on the ground that Fields had been convicted with evidence obtained in violation of his Fifth Amendment right to have counsel present at an interrogation. 682 F. 2d 154 (1982). We have concluded that the Court of Appeals’ majority misconstrued this Court’s recent decision in Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U. S. 477 (1981), and imposed a new and unjustified limit on police questioning of a suspect who…