Confessions & Miranda Flashcards
What are the procedural standards governing confessions based on?
- Due process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
- 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination
- 6th Amendment right to counsel
What is the critical stage in an investigation
the point at which your 6th Amendment right to council rights attach
At what point is the critical stage?
for purposes of the exam, preliminary hearing
The critical stage includes…?
every instance in which the advice of counsel is necessary to ensure a defendant’s right to a fair trial or in which the absence of counsel might impair the preparation or presentation of a defense
How to attach 6th amendment
6th amendment attached automatically at the critical stage, but it may be waived
What are the standards for waiver under the 5th & 6th Amendments?
- Voluntary
- Knowing
- Intelligent
What is a voluntary waiver under the 5th & 6th?
The waiver must be a free and deliberate choice, not the result of coercion, intimidation, or trickery.
What is a knowing waiver under the 5th & 6th?
The person waiving the right must be aware of the nature of the right being waived.
What is an intelligent waiver under the 5th & 6th?
The person must understand the consequences of giving up the right.
How is the 5th amendment right to council different from the 6th?
- Deals w/ miranda warnings
- applies to police custodial interrogations
- must be invoked
- not offense specific
Miranda rights can’t be asserted before you are questioned
How is the 6th amendment right to council different from the 5th?
- More broad than the 5th, applies to the accused at any and all of the critical stages
- doesn’t need to be invoked
- Offense specific
When can questioning post-invocation of Miranda be permitted?
- officers “scrupulously honored” the invocation before seeking to question him again
- Suspect initiated
- release from/ or not in custody
- not in an interrogation
- person asking is undercover
- public safety
- council was present
What are the four grounds for suppression of a confession?
- Statement is the product od an illegal detention
- statement was taken in violation of Miranda
- statement was taken in violation of the right to counsel
- statement was involuntary
When is a detention illegal?
- An arrest not supported by probable cause
- An investagatory detention not supported by reasonable suspicion
If the coercive effect of the unlawful detention dissipated by the time the statement was given, then the detention is not illegal
When is a statement taken in violation of the right to council?
- The statement was obtained after the right to counsel attached
- statement was the product of deliberate elicitation by the Commonwealth
- Commonwealth fails to prove that the defendant waived their right to counsel before making the statement
Deliberate elicitation” is questioning or conduct by the Commonwealth done with to obtain information from the defendant; it may occur even where it has not reached “interrogation” for Miranda purposes
In order to find a knowing and intelligent waiver, the Commonwealth has the burden to prove what?
(i) the individual was aware of the nature of the right and the risks and con- sequences of forfeiting it
ii) there was an intentional waiver of a known right or privilege, made by the accused.
Does an officers view of custody have an effect?
No, An officer’s subjective view concerning whether someone interrogated is a suspect is irrelevant to the assessment of whether the person is in custody (and thus entitled to the Miranda warnings
Custodial interrogation also includes…
any words or actions that police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect
Interrogation
questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way.
An objective determination designed to elicit an incriminating statement
An adequate Miranda warning
The inquiry as to adequacy is simply whether the warnings reasonably convey to a suspect his rights.
Percise wording isn’t important
the courts are not required to examine the words employed; the inquiry is simply whether the warnings reasonably conveyed to a suspect their rights as required by Miranda
Pre-Miranda Confessions
A second post-Miranda confession isn’t admissible when a prior un-mirandized confession had been given** Unless** the 2nd confession Miranda warning and accompanying break are sufficient to give the defendant the reasonable belief that she can decide not to speak with police.
Must the prosecution show that a waiver was express?
No, an implied waiver of the right to remain silent is sufficent to admit a suspect’s statement.
an implied waiver can be based on suspects behavior after the warning
Is the act of remaining silent enough to invoke your right?
No
How must a person invoke their right to councel?
Through an unambiguous atriculation, clear enough for a reasonable officer to understand
