Perry v. Leeke, Commissioner, South Carolina Department of Corrections, et al. (488 U.S. 272)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided January 1, 1989 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 488 U.S. 272 · 109 S. Ct. 594
- Decided
- January 1, 1989
- Term
- October Term 1988
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Stevens
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court. In Geders v. United States, 425 U. S. 80 (1976), we held that a trial court’s order directing a defendant not to consult his attorney during an overnight recess, called while the defendant was on the witness stand, violated his Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of counsel. Today we consider whether the Geders rule applies to a similar order entered at the beginning of a 15-minute afternoon recess. I Petitioner was tried and convicted by a jury of participating in a brutal murder, kidnaping, and sexual assault. His defense was that he had not taken an active part in the abduction or the homicide and that his participation in the sexual assault was the product of duress. Evidence offered on his behalf indicated that he was mildly retarded and that he was a nonviolent person who could be easily influenced by others. He took the stand and began to testify in his own defense after a lunch recess. At the conclusion of his direct testimony, the trial judge declared a 15-minute recess, and, without advance notice to counsel, ordered that petitioner not be allowed to talk to anyone, including his lawyer, during the break. When the trial resumed, counsel moved for a mistrial. The judge denied the motion, explaining that petitioner “was in a sense then a ward of the Court. He was not entitled to be cured or assisted or helped…
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