Transcript CHAPTER 12 MIRANDA AND TESTIMONIAL EVIDENCE

MIRANDA AND TESTIMONIAL
EVIDENCE
The Miranda Rule
 The Miranda Rule places an important legal requirement on
governmental officers to inform an arrestee or a suspect
subjected to “custody like treatment” of certain
Constitutional rights before questioning takes place.
 A peace officer must obtain a voluntary waiver of Miranda
rights before statements obtained from a suspect can be
admitted as evidence in court.
Parts:
1. Admonition of rights
2. Waiver
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The admonition of rights consists of Constitutional
provisions embodied within the 5th Amendment
Admonition consists of:
1. The right to not answer questions
2. Any responses to questions may be used in court
3. The right to any attorney before or during questioning
4. If indigent, counsel will be provided at public expense
Assertion of Rights:
 Once an arrestee indicates in any manner that he/she wishes
to remain silent, or states he/she wants advice of counsel, all
questioning must cease.
 No matter how many times an officer has read Miranda to a
suspect, it is always a good idea to read the admonition or
waiver directly form a pre-printed card.
Waiver of Rights:
 A wavier of rights consists of asking the arrestee if he/she
understands the admonition and then obtaining either an
express waiver or an implied waiver of rights.
Express Waiver: given verbally or in writing
Implied Waiver: affirmative gesture or body
language
 it is always the prosecution’s burden to show a waiver of
rights was given knowingly and voluntarily by a
preponderance of evidence.
 Knowingly means the suspect has the mental
capacity and intelligence to understand the
rights that he/she is waiving.
 The waiver or any subsequent questioning
cannot be a product of force, threats,
inducements, promises, trickery or submission to
police authority.
 Even when there is no formal arrest or
handcuffing, if restraint involves an atmosphere
of custody, then the Miranda Rule applies.
 The fact that an officer is questioning a person
because the officer believes he/she is a suspect in
the crime is irrelevant to custody.
 Interrogation commonly refers to direct police
questioning in order to obtain an admission or a
confession.
 Whenever in custody and desire to interrogate are
both present, a Miranda Admonition and waiver is a
legal requirement.
 The 6th Amendment provides in part that “in all
criminal proceedings the accused shall enjoy the
right to have the assistance of counsel for his
defense”.
 Even after the accused has counsel with regard to a
particular charged offense, he or she may be
questioned by police following Miranda Warnings
with respect to any uncharged offense.
Exceptions to Re-questioning:
1. Suspect voluntarily reinitiates questioning.
2. Re-questioning on a separate and unrelated offense.
3. Break in custody.
 Re-contact cannot be the product of police coercion,
inducement, of trickery in violation of the 4th amendment.
 At the time re-contact is made a renewed express Miranda
waiver must be given.
Assertion of Rights:
 Under the Mosley Rule, if a suspect has asserted
his/her right to remain silent on offense #1,
police can still attempt to question on offense #
2.
Offense #2 be a separate and unrelated
offense.
The Mosley rule only applies with a silence
assertion.
 If the suspect has asserted his/her right to
counsel, the Edwards Rule considers this request
to be a blanket assertion for all other offenses
while the suspect remains in custody.
When Miranda Doesn’t Apply:
1. A detention is a temporary stop for investigation and
questioning to determine a person’s involvement, if any, in
criminal activity.
 Because a person is not under arrest during a detention,
there is no custodial interrogation triggering a Miranda
requirement.
 During a detention a person can self invoke his/her right to
remain silent and not provide an explanation for one’s
actions.
2. General on-scene investigation and questioning takes
place whenever an officer is in a what happened or
knock and talk mode.
3. Voluntary Interview is where a suspect consents to
come down to the police station for investigative
questioning about possible involvement in a crime.
 When a suspect is told that he / she is not under arrest;
he/she is free to leave any time; and he / she is free not
to answer any questions they have been given a
Beheler Admonition.
 If the suspect agrees to remain any questions answered are
outside the Miranda Rule.
4. Telephone Interviews:
 It is permissable to question a suspect over the telephone
because there is no custody over phone lines.
 An officer is permitted to record a telephone conversation
without the suspect’s consent.
5. Exigency Exception:
 The exigency exception to Miranda arises under any of
the four possible situtations:
1. Victim safety
2. Public safety
3. Officer safety
4. Suspect safety
 The rescue doctrine arises in kidnapping, child
stealing, and hostage-taking situations where
negotiations are taking place with a suspect to aid in
rescuing the victim(s).
 Once the victim is located, Miranda applies to
any further questioning about criminal activity.
 With public safety exception there exists
emergency circumstances creating danger to life,
limb, or serious property damage which need to
be solved.
 Solving an exigency takes precedence over a
Miranda admonition, even in a custodial setting.
6. Booking Information: routine indentifying
information in arrest report, booking sheet, or jail
classification form is outside the scope of
Miranda.
7. Volunteered Statements:
 If a suspect voluntarily provides incriminating information, an
officer is not required to stop the individual and provide
Miranda warnings.
 The Miranda rule only applies when a suspect is being
subjected to custodial questioning by the officer.
8. Sting and Undercover Investigations:
 In covert sting and undercover investigations, there is no
custodial interrogation prompting Miranda.
9. Private Persons:
 Private citizens are not subject to Miranda
requirements unless that person is acting as a police
agent.
 Private persons include:
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Retail security personnel
Private investigators
School officials
Victims of a crime
10. Probation Officers:
 Miranda doesn’t apply to the questioning by a
probation officer who is checking up on courtimposed conditions of probation.
 A probation officer must be concerned with
overseeing probation conditions rather than acting
as a “Stalking Horse” for gathering criminal
investigation information for the police.
 If information concerning criminal activity comes into
light during a probation interview, the probation
officer can turn these statements over to the police.
11. Asset Forfeiture:
 The Miranda rule doesn’t apply to civil forfeitures
wherein assets derived as a result of criminal
profiteering are seized by the governmant.
Miranda and Minors:
 A minor has no constitutional right to have a parent or adult
present during questioning. This wording does not need to be
part of a Miranda admonition.
 Prosecution must show a minor knowingly waived his/her
rights. Important factors:
 Personal Characteristics of the Minor – intelligence, education,
and ability to comprehend the meaning and impact of Miranda
rights.
 Totality of Circumstances Test – the events surrounding the
waiver and interrogation, conduct and tactics by the police.
Miranda and Fruits of the Poisonous Tree:
 A non-coercive violation of Miranda doesn’t trigger and
Exclusionary rule remedy for evidence seizes as a result of a
statement.
 Physical evidence coming from a Miranda violation is still
admissible as long as the interrogation conducted by the
officer doesn’t involve threats, inducements, or promises
that violate the 14th Amendment.
Attenuation:
 If a statement incident to a 4th or 5th Amendment violation is
attenuated (a legal “cooling off” period involving time,
location, and circumstances), another waiver and subsequent
statement could still be admissible.
Impeachment:
 Statements taken in violation of the Miranda Rule may be
used for the limited purposes of impeachment.