United States of America, Appellee v. Tayfun Okatan, Defendant-Appellant

Summary

The Second Circuit held that the government’s use of Okatan’s pre‑arrest request for counsel and his subsequent silence as substantive evidence violated the Fifth Amendment, and that the error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Accordingly, the district court’s judgment was vacated and the case remanded for further proceedings. The opinion also noted the circuit split on pre‑arrest silence and applied de novo review to the constitutional claims.