Right to Counsel

Question 1

What is the rule from Powell v. Alabama?

Answer 1

Trials deny due process when defendants are not given reasonable time and opportunity to secure counsel in their defense.

Question 2

What is the rule from Gideon v. Wainwright?

Answer 2

Defendants in criminal trials have a right to appointed legal counsel.

Question 3

What is the rule from Michigan v. Harvey?

Answer 3

The Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel begins when the suspect is charged, or, in other words, when the “suspect” becomes the “defendant.”

Question 4

Does the Sixth Amendment RIght to Counsel only apply to incarcerated defendants?

Answer 4

No, the Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel does not dependent on whether the defendant is incarcerated and it survives throughout the pendency of the case.

Question 5

Does the Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel apply to appeals?

Answer 5

Yes, the Sixth Amendment Right to Counsel applies to both the trial and the appeals process and counsel can be appointed for both the trial and the appeals process.

Question 6

Can confessions be induced through violence?

Answer 6

No, confessions induced by violence are not consistent with the Due Process clause and thus evidence is therefore inadmissible at trial.

Question 7

What are the Miranda Rights?

Answer 7

Prior to any questioning, a suspect must be warned of the following:

(1) That they have the right to remain silent

(2) That any statement that they make may be used as evidence against them

(3) That he has the right to an attorney and that if he cannot afford one, then one will be appointed for him.

Question 8

What is the rule from Dickerson v. United States?

Answer 8

Dickerson v. United States upheld the requirement that the Miranda Rights be read to criminal suspects and struck down a federal statute that purported to overrule the need for suspects to be read their rights.

Question 9

When do Miranda Rights apply?

Answer 9

(1) Evidence must have been obtained while Defendant is in custody.

(2) Evidence must have been the product of interrogation.

Question 10

What is a Custodial Interrogation?

Answer 10

Miranda defines a Custodial Interrogation as “questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his [or her] freedom of action in any significant way.”

Question 11

What is the rule from J.D.B. v. North Carolina?

Answer 11

The test to determine whether someone is being subjected to Custodial Interrogation is whether a reasonably prudent person would believe that their freedom of movement is significantly restrained given the totality of the circumstances.

Question 12

What are some factors to consider in the Totality of the Circumstances test for determining if you’re in Custodial Interrogation?

Answer 12

(1) The number of police officers

(2) Whether the officer tells you that you are free to leave or not free to leave

(3) The length and intensity of the questioning

(4) Whether the officer employs physical force to restrain the individual

(5) Whether the stop or in private

(6) The location of the interrogation

(7) Whether a reasonable person would believe that the stop would be brief or whether the stop would result in a custodial arrest

(8) Whether the individual is in familiar or unfamiliar surroundings

(9) Whether the suspect is permitted to leave following the interrogation

Question 13

Are Miranda warnings required in a Terry stop?

Answer 13

No, because Terry stops do not rise to the level of Custodial Interrogations.

Question 14

What is the rule from Rhode Island v. Innis?

Answer 14

Interrogation involves either express questioning or the functional equivalent of express questioning.

Question 15

What is Express Questioning?

Answer 15

Questions directed to a suspect by the Police.

Question 16

What is the Functional Equivalent of Express Questioning?

Answer 16

Words or actions on the part of the Police (other than those normally attendant to arrest and custody) that the Police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect.

Question 17

What is the rule from Davis v. United States?

Answer 17

Generally, the police must immediately stop probing if the detainee invokes either the right to remain silent or the right to counsel. If the suspect invokes the latter, questioning must cease until counsel is available.

Question 18

What is the rule from Berghuis v. Thompkins?

Answer 18

An accused who wants to invoke their right to silence is required “to do so unambiguously.”

Question 19

What is the difference between invoking the Right to Remain Silent and the Right to Counsel?

Answer 19

Invoking the Right to Counsel means that questioning must cease until counsel is available. Davis v. United States.

Invoking the Right to Remain Silent allows the Police to re-initiate questioning at a later time so long as they honor the Right to Remain Silent and provide a new set of Miranda Warnings first.

Question 20

What is an Express Waiver?

Answer 20

An Express Waiver is when the individual states that they are willing to make a statement and does not want an attorney.

Question 21

What is an Implied Waiver?

Answer 21

An Implied Waiver is when waiver can be clearly inferred from the actions and words of the person being interrogated.

Question 22

What are the three requirements in order to waive your Right to Counsel?

Answer 22

(1) The waiver must be voluntarily.

(2) The waiver must be made knowingly and intelligently

(3) The waiver must be Expressed or Implied.

Question 23

What does it mean for a waiver to be given voluntarily?

Answer 23

Any evidence that waiver of Right to Counsel was threatened, tricked, or cajoled out of the Defendant will invalidate the waiver.

Question 24

How do you determine if a waiver was given knowingly and intelligent?

Answer 24

It’s a Totality of the Circumstances Test that uses factors such as age, experience, education, background, medical or mental condition, and intelligence.

Question 25

Once Miranda Rights are waived, can the waiver be revoked?

Answer 25

Yes, suspects can revoke their waiver by invoking their Miranda rights at a later time.

Question 26

What is the rule from Michigan v. Mosley?

Answer 26

Police may be able to continue with the interrogation after a suspect invokes the Right to Remain Silent land later chooses to voluntarily restart the conversation with the Police so long as they give the suspect a new set of Miranda Warnings first.

Question 27

What are four exceptions to the Miranda Rights?

Answer 27

(1) The Public Safety Exception allows questioning of a suspect after arrest, but before reading the Miranda Rights if there is an immediate and significant danger to the Public. New York v. Quarles.

(2) The privilege can only be asserted by natural persons (not corporations)

(3) The privilege only applies to self-incriminating statements (not physical evidence).

(4) The privilege does not apply if questioning is done by a private citizen or by a nonidentified state-agent.