Commonwealth v. Moose

OPINION OF THE COURT

CAPPY, Justice.

The principal question we are called upon to decide is whether statements surreptitiously obtained by a jailhouse informant from appellee awaiting trial violated appellee’s Sixth Amendment rights when admitted against him in that trial, where the informant was acting pursuant to “an implied understanding” with the district attorney. For the reasons that follow, we hold that appellee’s Sixth Amendment rights were violated, that such statements should not have been admitted, and that a new trial is required.

The gravamen of appellee Moose’s complaint is that…