Right to Counsel; Confessions

Question 0

5th Amendment Right to Counsel

Answer 0

If the accused invokes his right to counsel under Miranda, all questioning must cease, even about a totally unrelated crime, because the 5th amendment right to counsel under Miranda, unlike the 6th amendment right to counsel, is not offense specific.

Question 1

5th Amendment Right to Counsel

Answer 1

At any time prior to or during interrogation, a suspect may invoke a Miranda (5th Amendment) right to counsel. However, the request must be unambiguous and specific.

If the defendant agrees to answer questions orally, but requests the presence of counsel before making any written statements, the defendant’s oral statements are admissible. His agreement to talk constitute a voluntary and knowing waiver of the right to counsel.

Question 2

6th Amendment Right to Counsel

Answer 2

The 6th Amendment right to counsel is triggered after the defendant has been charged with the relevant crimes.

The 6th amendment right to counsel provides defendants with a right to counsel at any post-indictment interrogatories.

A defendant on trial for arson, any interrogation relating to those charges must take place, if at all, in the presence of the defendant’s counsel unless the defendant has knowingly and voluntarily waived the rights.

Question 3

6th Amendment Right to Counsel

Answer 3

Scope: the 6th amendment right to counsel is violated by questioning a defendant after he has been charged, regardless of whether the defendant knows that the person questioning him is a police officer.

Question 4

6th Amendment Right to Counsel - Waiver

Answer 4

When one is represented by counsel, a valid waiver of the right to counsel requires the presence of counsel unless the defendant initiates the contact.
Waiver must be knowingly and voluntarily given.

Question 5

6th Amendment Right to Counsel

Answer 5

The right to counsel under the 6th amendment gives the defendant the right to be represented by privately retained counsel or to have counsel appointed for her by the state is she is indigent. However, the right to counsel applies to misdemeanor trials only when a sentence of imprisonment is actually imposed (including a suspended sentence).

However, an alternative penalty of a fine may be imposed on the defendant despite the refusal to provide her with counsel.