Can a police officer coerce a defendant into making a statement on a pretext call?

Defendant cites cases pertaining to psychological coercion by law enforcement officers or their agents. (See Maine v. Moulton (1985) 474 U.S. 159; Brewer v. Williams (1977) 430 U.S. 387.) These cases concerned interrogations conducted in violation of the Sixth Amendment because they occurred after the right to counsel had attached. (See

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Massiah v. United States (1964) 377 U.S. 201, 206 [Sixth Amendment violated where federal agents elicited statements from defendant in the absence of his counsel after he had been indicted].) Those cases are inapposite. Here, police did not arrest defendant until several months later, and the right to counsel had not yet attached at the time of the pretext call.

Based on the totality of the circumstances, we conclude the record shows defendant was not coerced into making any statements in the pretext call; he made all statements during the call voluntarily. The trial court did not err by admitting the audio of the call. Thus, even if defense counsel had objected to the admission of the evidence or moved for its exclusion, the trial court properly would have ruled it admissible. Defense counsel's performance was therefore not deficient, and defendant suffered no ineffective assistance. (People v. Anderson (2001) 25 Cal.4th 543, 587 [defense counsel does not provide ineffective assistance of counsel by declining to lodge a futile objection].) We conclude these claims are without merit.