Willis Randolph v. People of the State of California Attorney General of the State of California James Hamlet, Warden

Petitioner Willis Randolph appeals the district court’s denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus challenging his 1986 state court conviction for murder. We hold that if the State places a cooperating informant in a jail cell with a defendant whose right to counsel has attached, and if the informant then makes a successful effort to stimulate a conversation with the defendant about the crime charged, the State thereby violates the defendant’s Sixth Amendment rights under Massiah v. United States, 377 U.S. 201 , 84 S.Ct. 1199 , 12 L.Ed.2d 246 (1964). Because the district court failed to make proper factual findings, we vacate the district court’s denial of Randolph’s Massiah claim and remand for factfinding. We do not decide the part of Randolph’s claim under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 , 83 S.Ct. 1194 , 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), that depends on the district court’s finding of fact necessary for the Massiah claim. We affirm the district court’s denial of Randolph’s other claims.

I. Background

Petitioner Randolph is currently serving a life sentence for his conviction for the murder of 10-year-old Lamont Collins on June 24,1981. The police initially suspected Lamont’s…