Statements and Confessions Flashcards
What are involuntary statements?
A statement is generally considered involuntary when the police subjected the suspect to coercive conduct, and that conduct, under the totality of the circumstances, was sufficient to overcome the will of the suspect.
This is a subjective, case-by-case analysis.
What are the four bases to exclude statements and confessions and the constitutional bases?
- Voluntariness approach - To be admissible, a statement must be voluntarily made based on the totality of the circumstances. Due Process Clause of the 5th/14th.
- Right to Counsel approach - Statements made during any critical stage of a criminal proceeding are inadmissible unless the D is afforded the right to counsel. Sixth Amendment.
- Miranda standard - Statements made during custodial interrogation are inadmissible in the absence of Miranda warnings. Fifth Amendment Privilege against Self-Incrimination.
- Fruits of illegal conduct - Even voluntary statements obtained as fruits of prior illegal searches and seizures are inadmissible. Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule.
When is a statement inadmissible under the Due Process clause?
Involuntary under the Due Process Clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments
The voluntariness standard is based on the trustworthiness and reliability of the proffered evidence and is used to determine the admissibility of a confession based the totality of the circumstances. Factors are age, sex, education, and mental and physical health.
Police may not offer false promises of dropping charges to elicit a confession.
Coercion may take the form of physical abuse, threats, or promises of leniency.
The harmless error rule governs the admissible of an involuntary confession.
When is a statement inadmissible under the Sixth Amendment?
Violation of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel under the Massiah rule
This right attaches at the beginning of the criminal process. This really begins when the government has the intent to prosecute.
A suspect has a right to counsel during questioning by police. The accused must make the request unambiguously to the interrogator, at which time the questioning must cease.
The right to counsel is offense-specific.
Police may not question a D who has counsel or who has requested counsel.
When is a statement inadmissible under the Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination in Miranda?
Violation of the fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination as applied by the Miranda rule
The privilege applies only to natural persons.
When a witness has reason to fear that answers to possible questions might tend to incriminate him or subject him to other prosecution within the US, he as a valid Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination.
The privilege protects against admission of evidence that is testimonial in nature but not against the admission of real or physical evidence.
When either use or transactional immunity has been granted to a D, the privilege is eliminated.
Immunized testimony cannot be used to impeach but it can be used to prove perjury.
What is Miranda?
No statement made by a D will be admitted into evidence unless, prior to custodial interrogation, the D is given certain warrnings.
The warnings must be:
- Right to remain silent;
- Anything he says can be used against him in court;
- Right to the presence of an attorney; and
- If he cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided.
What is interrogation for Miranda?
An interrogation occurs where police know or should reasonably know that their actions or inquiries are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect.
Susceptibilities will be considered.
Interrogation by informants and private security guards does not apply.
What is custody for Miranda?
Custody is where the suspect experiences significant deprivation of freedom of movement and may not leave.
Objective criteria:
- when and where it occurred;
- how long it lasted;
- how many police officers were present;
- what the officers and the D said and did;
- the presence of physical restraint or the equivalent; and
- whether the D was being questioned as a suspect or as a witness.
A Terry stop is not custody.
What are the exceptions to Miranda?
Miranda does not apply to:
- questions by police officers regarding age, date of birth, height, weight, and the like; and
- questioning by a parole officer when the D was free to leave the police station.
There could be a balancing if the immediate threat posed to the public safety.
What is admissibility when Miranda is violated?
Statements obtained in violation of Miranda may not be used in the prosecution’s case-in-chief.
They can be used to impeach.
Admission of a statement in violation of Miranda may be harmless error.
Physical evidence discovered from an un-Mirandized confession is admissible if it was voluntary.
Can there be a waiver of Miranda?
There must be a knowing and intelligent waiver.
It cannot be presumed through silence.
A waiver by a mentally disabled person is admissible but if the evidence shows that the person could not understand the warnings, the waiver cannot be intelligent.
How must Miranda be invoked by a D?
If a D either requests an attorney or states that he wishes to remain silent, all interrogation must stop.
To resume questioning anew, the police must allow for a significant period of time to elapse and must provide a fresh set of Miranda warnings.
A D who has requested an attorney cannot be questioned again until either counsel is furnished or the D voluntarily initiates a discussion beyond a necessary inquiry arising out of the incidents of the custodial relationship.
A D must unambiguously invoke his right to remain silent.
A statement or confession made after a waiver may be inadmissible if it is the fruit of an illegal arrest, search, or seizure.
