Ever Perform a ‘Perkins operation?’ You Should Know the Rules About Trying to Get a Suspect to Talk They’re Nuanced

By Robert Phillps, Deputy District Attorney (Ret)

Summary: A suspect in a murder case was placed into a jail cell with two undercover law enforcement agents in what is known as a “Perkins operation.” After the undercover agents failed to get the defendant to make any admissions relative to the murder, a sheriff’s deputy removed the defendant from his cell and had him stand in a live lineup. The defendant was falsely told he was identifiedby a witness during the lineup. Asked by the deputy if he wanted to talk about the murder, the defendant invoked his Miranda right to counsel. Upon being put back into his jail cell with the undercover agents, the deputy told the defendant he would be charged with murder. Subjected to continued questioning by the undercover agents, the defendant eventually admitted to being involved in the murder. The defendant appealed his conviction, arguing that because he had invoked his Miranda rights, after which he was “stimulated” into talking about the murder by the deputy’s presence and being told that he was going to be charged with murder, his Miranda rights had been violated. In reversing his conviction, the court ruled that acts by a person known by the defendant to be a law enforcement officer that served to stimulate a defendant into talking about his involvement in the murder, occurring after a Miranda invocation, violated the defendant’s Miranda rights Such stimulation can be something as minor as the deputy walking by defendant’s jail cell. Here, the deputy’s presence, along with him telling the defendant he was going to be charged with murder following the fake lineup, constituted illegal stimulation. Admission into evidence of the defendant’s incriminating statements to the undercover agents was held to be prejudicial, requiring reversal of his conviction. 

Legal Issues and Case Citation

• Miranda v. Arizona and in-custody interrogations
• A Perkins Operation
• Questioning of an in-custody suspect by undercover law enforcement agents
• Stimulating an in-custody suspect into talking about their offense

Rule: When an in-custody suspect invokes the right to counsel, after which a ....