Anthony Kennedy,
Illinois v. Perkins — Opinion of the Court
“ We hold that an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a fellow inmate need not give Miranda warnings to an incarcerated suspect before asking questions that may elicit an incriminating response. ”
Anthony Kennedy,
Illinois v. Perkins — Opinion of the Court
“ Miranda forbids coercion, not mere strategic deception by taking advantage of a suspect's misplaced trust in one he supposes to be a fellow prisoner. As we recognized in Miranda: " [C] onfessions remain a proper element in law enforcement. Any statement given freely and voluntarily without any compelling influences is, of course, admissible in evidence." 384 U.S., at 478, 86 S.Ct., at 1629. Ploys to mislead a suspect or lull him into a false sense of security that do not rise to the level of compulsion or coercion to speak are not within Miranda 's concerns. ”
Anthony Kennedy,
Illinois v. Perkins — Opinion of the Court
“ When a suspect considers himself in the company of cellmates and not officers, the coercive atmosphere is lacking. Miranda, 384 U.S., at 449, 86 S.Ct., at 1614 (" [T] he 'principal psychological factor contributing to a successful interrogation is privacy-being alone with the person under interrogation' ") ; id., at 445, 86 S.Ct., at 1612. There is no empirical basis for the assumption that a suspect speaking to those whom he assumes are not officers will feel compelled to speak by the fear of reprisal for remaining silent or in the hope of more lenient treatment should he confess. ”
