United States v. Henry
United States Supreme Court
447 U.S. 264 (1980)
Henry (defendant) was jailed on bank robbery charges alongside Nichols, a paid FBI informant working on a contingency-fee basis, without the jury being told Nichols was an informant. Nichols testified at trial about incriminating conversations he had with Henry regarding the robbery. Henry was convicted and sentenced to 25 years, and only after his direct appeal did he learn Nichols was a paid informant; he moved to vacate his sentence, arguing the government used Nichols to violate his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. The motion was denied, but the Court of Appeals reversed, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Whether admitting at trial statements an in-custody, indicted defendant made to a covert paid government informant violates the defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel.