Legal Definitions - deliberate elicitation

Deliberate elicitation is a term used in criminal procedure. It refers to the act of purposefully and secretly getting an incriminating response from a suspect who has the right to counsel but has not waived that right. This usually happens outside of a formal interrogation.

For example, a police officer might talk to a suspect on the way to the police station and try to get them to say something incriminating. This is a violation of the Sixth Amendment, which guarantees the right to counsel.

One famous case that dealt with deliberate elicitation is Massiah v. United States. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that any evidence obtained through deliberate elicitation is inadmissible in court.