Michigan v. Jackson, 475 U.S. 625 (1986), was a case decided by the United States Supreme Court regarding the Sixth Amendment's right to counsel in a police interrogation. In a decision written by Justice Stevens, the Court held that once an accused individual has claimed a right to counsel at a plea hearing or other court proceeding, a waiver of that right during later police questioning would be invalid unless the accused individual initiated the communication. This decision was overruled by the Supreme Court in Montejo v. Louisiana, by a 5–4 vote. Facts Respondent Bladel Respondent Rudy Bladel had been convicted of murdering three railroad employees at the Amtrak station in Jackson, Michigan, on December 31, 1978. Bladel, a disgruntled former employee, had been arrested three months later in Indiana and extradited to Michigan. He had agreed to talk to the police without counsel. At his arraignment he requested that counsel be appointed for him because he was indigent. The detective in charge of the investigation was present at the arraignment. A notice of appointment was then mailed to a law firm, but before the law firm received the notice, two police officers interviewed Bladel in the county jail and obtained a confession from him. Prior to that questioning, the officers had advised Bladel of his Miranda rights. Although Bladel had inquired about his representation several times since the arraignment, he was not told that a law firm had been appointed to represent him. Bladel then objected to the admissibility of the confession but the trial court overruled his objection. He was convicted and sentenced to three life sentences to run consecutively. On appeal from his conviction and sentence, Bladel challenged the confession. The Michigan Court of Appeals first rejected that challenge and affirmed the conviction, but, after reconsideration in the light of a recent decision by the State Supreme Court, it reversed and remanded for a new trial. The Michigan Supreme Court then granted the prosecutor's application for leave to appeal, and considered the case with respondent Jackson's appeal of his conviction. Respondent Jackson Respondent Robert Bernard Jackson had been convicted of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder after allegedly taking part in a wife's plan to have her husband killed on July 12, 1979. He made a number of statements to police after his arrest but before his arraignment. During his arraignment, Jackson requested that counsel