Confessions Flashcards
14th Amendment Voluntariness
For a self-incriminating statement to be admissible under the Due Process Clause, it must be voluntary, as determined by the totality of the circumstances.
A statement will be involuntary only if there is some official compulsion (I.e., a confession is not involuntary merely because it is a product of mental illness)
Harmless Error Test Applies
If an involuntary confession is admitted into evidence, the harmless error test applies; this means the conviction need not be overturned if there is other overwhelming evide3nce of guilt.
6th Amendment right to Counsel
6th Amendment guarantees the right to the assistance of counsel in all criminal proceedings, which include all critical stages of a prosecution after judicial proceedings have begun (I.e., formal charges have been filed).
It prohibits the police from deliberately eliciting an incriminating statement from a D outside the presence of counsel after the D has been charged unless the D has waived their right to counsel.
6th Amendment: Applicable Stages
Post-indictment interrogation, whether or not custodial
Preliminary hearings to determine PC to prosecute
Arraignment
Post-Charge Lineups
Guilty Plea and Sentencing
Felony trials
Misdemeanor trials
Overnight recesses during trial
Appeals as a matter of right
Appeals of guilty pleas
Offense Specific
The D may be questioned regarding unrelated, uncharged offenses without violating the 6th Amendment right to counsel.
6th Amendment is offense specific.
Even though a D’Souza 6th Amendment rights have attached regarding the charge for which they are being held.
Waiver
6th Amendment right to counsel may be waived.
The waiver must be knowing and voluntary.
However, the waiver does not necessarily require the presence of counsel, at least if counsel has not actually been requested by the D but rather was appointed by the court.
Remedy
At nontrial proceedings the harmless error rule applies to deprivations of counsel.
If the D was entitled to a lawyer at trial, the failure to provide counsel results in automatic reversal of the conviction, even without a showing of specific unfairness in the proceedings.
Similarly, erroneous disqualification of privately retained counsel at trial results in automatic reversal.
Impeachment
A statement obtained in violation of a D’s 6th Amendment right to counsel, while not admissible in the P’s case in chief, may be used to impeach the D’s contrary trial testimony.
5th Amendment Privilege Against compelled Self-Incrimination: Miranda Warnings
Miranda warnings are required when a suspect is in custodial interrogation. For an admission or confession to be admissible under the 5th amendment privilege against self-incrimination, a person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be informed, in substance, that:
- The person has the right to remain silent
- Anything the person says can be used against them in the court of law
- The person has the right to presence of an attorney; and
- If the person cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for them if they so desire
NOTE: the warnings need not be verbatim so long as the substance of the warnings is conveyed.
When are Miranda Warnings required?
Anyone in the custody of the government and accused of a crime must be given Miranda warnings prior to interrogation by the police.
Governmental Conduct Requirement
Miranda warnings are necessary only if the detainee knows that they are being interrogated by a government agent.
The warnings are not necessary when the detainee is being interrogated by an informant whom the D does not know is working for the police.
Custody Requirement
Determine whether custody exists is a two step process:
- Freedom of movement test - requires the court to determine whether a reasonable person under the circumstances would feel that they were free to terminate the interrogation and leave.
- Inherently coercive measures - If freedom of movement was curtailed, consider whether the relevant environment presents the same inherently coercive pressures as the type of station house questioning at issue in Miranda.
The more a setting resembles a traditional arrest, the more likely the Court will consider it to be custody.
Interrogation Requirement
Interrogation includes any words or conduct by the police that they should know would likely elicit an incriminating response from the detainee.
Miranda warnings are not required before spontaneous statements are made by a detainee.
NOTE: routine booking questions do not constitute interrogation.
Right to Waive Rights or Terminate Interrogation
After receiving Miranda warnings, a detainee has several options: do nothing, waive their Miranda rights, assert the right to remain silent, or assert the right to consult with an attorney.
Do Nothing - If the detainee does not respond at all to Miranda warnings, the Court will not presume a waiver, but neither will the court presume that the detainee has asserted a right to remain silent or to consult with an attorney.
Waive Rights - Detainee may waive their rights under Miranda; to be valid, the government must show by a preponderance of the evidence that the waiver was knowing and voluntary. Court will look to the totality of the circumstances in determining whether the standard was met. If government can show that detainee was given Miranda warnings and then chose to answer questions, it is probably sufficient.
Invocation of Right to Remain Silent - IF the detainee indicates that they wish to remain silent, the police must scrupulously honor this request by not badgering the detainee.
Invocation of Right to Counsel - If the detainee unambiguously indicates that they wish to speak to counsel, all questioning must cease until counsel has been provided unless the detainee 1) waives their right to counsel, or 2) is released from the custodial interrogation back to their normal life and 14 days have passed.
Effect of Violation
Evidence obtained in violation of the Miranda rules is inadmissible at trial under the exclusionary (generally)
