Murder Suspect Gets No Relief for Ambiguous Request for Counsel

A murder convict isn’t entitled to federal habeas relief on the grounds that law enforcement continued an interrogation after he made what state courts decided was an ambiguous request for an attorney, a divided Seventh Circuit said.

Nicolas Subdiaz‐Osorio stabbed his brother to death during a drunken fight in Kenosha, Wis., and was apprehended in Arkansas attempting to flee to Mexico. After a Miranda warning police conducted an interview in Spanish, during which Subdiaz‐Osorio asked about being moved back to Kenosha. An officer told him he’d have to appear in front of an Arkansas judge first.

Subdiaz‐Osorio then said, “How ...