United States v. Holness, No. 11-4631 (4th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseDefendant was convicted of interstate domestic violence and attempted witness intimidation. On appeal, defendant contended that the district court erred by declining to suppress certain aspects of the government's evidence stemming from his cell-mate's activities after speaking to the police which, defendant alleged, were obtained in deprivation of his Sixth Amendment right to assistance of counsel. The court concluded that no acts imputable to the State worked any deprivation of defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel with respect to the federal charges of which he stood convicted. The court held, however, that a substantial question remained as to whether those same acts contravened defendant's Fifth Amendment rights. The court held that remand was unnecessary in this instance because any Fifth Amendment error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt and affirmed the convictions.
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