Confessions Flashcards
A confession will be unconstitutional when it violates which three rights?
The confession was not voluntarily (violates 4th Amendment)
The confession was in violation of the persons right to counsel (6th Amendment)
The police obtained the confession without giving the person the Miranda rights.
When will the sixth Amendment right to counsel attach?
Once the defendant is formally charged/indicted, not upon arrest
Is the right to counsel offence-specific or does it apply to all crimes that the suspect may have committed, but is not necessarily charged with?
The right is offence specific, so it only applies to the charges brought against the defendant.
If the defendant makes an incriminating statement to law-enforcement it will violate the 6th amendment in what circumstances?
Where law-enforcement DELIBERATELY elicited the statements from the defendant
AND
The defendant did not KNOWINGLY, INTELLIGENTLY, and VOLUNTARILY waive his right to have an attorney present
Under which constitutional Amendment does the Maranda doctor in full?
5th Amendment
What are the Miranda rights?
- The right to remain silent
- Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law
- The right to an attorney
- If you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for you by the state
When do the police have to give the defendant Maranda warnings?
For any custody or interrogation
In terms of when a defendant must receive Miranda warning when taken into “custody” what is the test for determining whether they have been custodialy detained?
There is a two part, totality of the circumstances, test to determine if the suspect is in custody for Maranda purposes
Part one: a reasonable person would have felt that she was not at liberty to and the interrogation leave
AND
Part two: the environment presents the same inherently coercive pressures as the police station
In terms of Miranda rights how is an interrogation defined?
And interrogation is conduct that the police knew I should have known was likely to elicit an incriminating response
Incriminating testimony responses from the defendant obtained through an interrogation or admissible if the officer does what two things?
Reasonably conveys the core Maranda rights to the suspect
And
Retains a valid Miranda rights waiver from the suspect
For a suspect to affectively wave that Miranda rights what to call requirements need to be shown?
Firstly that they knowingly and intelligently wave their rights
The waiver was voluntarily
Does the waiver of Miranda rights need to be express?
It may be implied by a course of conduct, indicating the suspects desire to speak without coercion
If the suspect wants to invoke the right to remain silent what must they do?
Unambiguously invoke this right
If the suspect unambiguously invokes the right to silence what must the police officers do?
They must scrupulously honour the right.
If I suspect invokes the right to remain silent when can the police reignite questioning?
The police my reignite questioning where
- The police STOPPED questioning immediately upon the detainees request and did not resume questioning for several hours
- The suspect was given a fresh set of Maranda warnings once the police reignited
- And the question was limited to crime that was NOT the subject of the earlier questioning
In order for a suspect to invoke the right to counsel what should they do?
They should make their request for counsel significantly clear to the police so that a reasonable officer would understand the request
If a request for counsel is not sufficiently clear can the police continue questioning the suspect?
Yes if there is ambiguity in the request of the police can continue questioning without providing the suspect with an attorney
If a suspect makes a request for council, invoking the Miranda rights, when does such rights expire?
14 days after I suspect is released from custody, meaning police cannot re-question the suspect for two weeks after the release.
If police obtain incriminating statements against a suspect in violation of them around the rights when can these statements be used in trial?
They are inadmissible in the prosecutors case in chief but they can be used to impeach the defendants testimony on cross-examination.
What are the three types of pr-trial identification?
Lineups
Show ups
Photo arrays
Which pre-trial identification methods does the sixth Amendment right to counsel protect?
Lineups and show ups after the suspect is charged. However photo arrays or not covered
What is the remedy for a constitutional violation of pre-trial identification?
And what is the exception to this rule?
Exclusion of witnesses in court identification
However, the identification may still be allowed if it has an independent source.
In terms of pre-trial indemnification, what is the rule for violation of due process?
And how will the courts determine this?
Due you process will be violated when it’s so unnecessary and suggested that it creates a substantial likelihood of miss identification.
The courts will weigh the reliability of a suggested identification against its corruptive effect
For a confession or admission to be admissible, what must the police do in terms of Miranda?
1) reasonably convey to the suspect his/her Miranda rights
AND
2) Thereafter obtain a valid waiver of the suspect’s right to silence and counsel.
