Police Interrogation and Miranda Flashcards
Two Steps to Determine Credibility of Confessions
- Was it Voluntary? (Look totality of the Circ.)
- Did it satisfy Miranda?!
Potential Factors
- Were you deprived of basic bodily needs (food/sleep/length of time)
- Use of force or threat of force
- Psychological pressure on the subject
- Deception usually has to track psychological coercion/pressure. (Court will tolerate a lot of deceptive techniques)
- Age level of education, mental condition
Brown (black man in MS or something that was tortured)
Use of confessions in state court that are obtained by torture/violence are violation of due process clause of the 14th
Fulminante (Mental Coercion)
Coercion for the purpose of voluntariness analysis can be accomplished through both physical and mental means. (Fear of violence can be enough).
Spano (Poorly educated immigrant killing the bully case)
If a confession is obtained by overbearing the will of the accused, it is involuntary and inadmissible
Connelly (Crazy person confesses to murder on the street)
A confession can be deemed involuntary only if it is obtained through police coercion (aka. police wrongdoing).
Miranda
The prosecution may not use statements stemming from custodial interrogation of the defendant unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards effective to secure the privilege against self-incrimination
Dickerson (Congress tried to overturn Miranda)
Miranda is a Constitutional Decision!
What is Custody in regards to Miranda?
Formal arrest or restrain on freedom of movement of the degree associated with a formal arrest (Determined by totality of the circumstances - would a reasonable person have felt they were under arrest)
Mathiason (Custody - Dude came to police station voluntarily and was told not under arrest/was allowed to leave) (house burglary case)
For a person to be in custody there must be some sort of coercion beyond the police just asking questions or that questioning taking place in a station house.
Beckwith (Custody)
Just because you’re the focus of an investigation does not make you “in custody” if you’re interviewing in relation to that investigation (think Dexter - bringing people in for questioning)
JDB (Age & Custody)
A child’s age is factored into custody analysis
Berkemer (Traffic Stops and Custody)
Miranda custody exists when a person’s freedom of action is curtailed to a degree associated with formal arrest. Test is not whether they’re under arrest, but how a reasonable person would perceive the situation.
Innis (Custody - Direct questioning)
Miranda safeguards only come into play when a person in custody is subject to express questioning or its functional equivalent
Perkins (undercover officer)
Interrogation by an undercover officer is not “interrogation,” so long as the person being questioned in unaware that he or she is dealing with a police officer
Elstad (unmiranda, then Miranda)
In subsequent confessions - 1 Unmirandized and 2 Mirandized - only the first confession will be suppressed as long as the second confession is voluntary and lacks coercion.
