The Supreme Court today strengthened the right of criminal suspects to have lawyers present when they are questioned by police. By a 6-2 vote, the justices overturned the murder conviction of Mississippi death row inmate Robert S. Minnick, who confessed when he was questioned without his lawyer present. The court said Minnick's rights were violated even though he earlier had consulted with his lawyer and agreed to talk to authorities. Unless the suspect initiates such a talk with police, the court said, he may not be questioned outside the presence of his lawyer once he has invoked his right to a lawyer. In other action, the court: - Left intact a lawsuit settlement that eased restrictions on abortion clinics in Illinois. The court, without comment, rejected an appeal by two nurses and two expectant fathers who said the settlement does not adequately protect women or fetuses. - Refused to kill a lawsuit against a California community college's officials accused of unlawful censorship for blocking the on-campus performance of a racially charged play. The court, without comment, rejected an appeal by the college officials. - Shielded businesses from some big-money lawsuits filed by employees who claim they were fired so their employers would not have to pay pension benefits. The court ruled unanimously that fired employees may not sue4 in state courts over such allegations. The state suits are pre-empted by a federal law protecting pensions, the court said. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the court in the confession case, said, ``There can be no doubt that the interrogation in question was initiated by the police. It was a formal interview which (Minnick) was compelled to attend.'' ``Since (Minnick) made a specific request for counsel before the interview, the police-initiated interrogation was impermissible.'' In a dissenting opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia said the majority was ``misguided'' to discourage ``an honest confession.'' He said the ruling undermines a ``belief in either personal responsibility or the moral claim of just government to obedience.'' He was joined by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist. Justice David H. Souter did not take part in the case. Minnick and James ``Monkey'' Dyess escaped from Clarke County, Miss., jail in April 1986 and went looking for guns, authorities said. Police said the two men fatally shot Donald Ellis Thomas and Lamar Lafferty when the victims returned to Thomas's mobile home to find Minnick and Dyess there. Minnick was arrested in Lemon Grove, Calif., on Aug. 22, 1986. FBI agents ended their questioning of him when he asked for a lawyer. Minnick then met with an attorney who advised him not to answer any more questions. A few days later, Deputy Sheriff J.C. Denham of Clarke County flew to California and questioned Minnick. The suspect confessed, saying he shot Lafferty because Dyess was threatening to kill Minnick if he did not. Minnick was convicted in Mississippi and sentenced to death. The Mississippi Supreme Court, in upholding his conviction, said Denham's questioning of Minnick did not violate a rule the U.S. Supreme Court established in 1981. The high court barred police from questioning a suspect who has asked for a lawyer unless the suspect initiates the conversation. Today the high court extended that ruling to instances in which a suspect already has conferred with an attorney. Kennedy said the 1981 ruling is designed to prevent police from badgering a defendant into giving up the right to a lawyer provided by the court's famous Miranda ruling in 1966. The threat of badgering is no less after the suspect has talked to his lawyer, Kennedy said. ``A single consultation with an attorney does not remove the suspect from persistent attempts by officials to persuade him to waive his rights or from the coercive pressures that accompany custody and that may increase as custody is prolonged,'' he said. The case is Minnick vs. Mississippi, 89-6332.
