“[A]ny lawyer worth his salt will tell the suspect in no uncertain terms to make no statement to police under any circumstances.” – Watts v. Indiana, 338 U.S. 49 (1949) (Justice Jackson, concurring) - “Tried to take the...more
In a recent opinion, the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in which held that the “use of an un-Mirandized statement against a defendant in a criminal proceeding violates the Fifth...more
On of the most well known of all criminal procedural rights was established by the US Supreme Court on this day in 1966, when the Court handed down its Miranda v. Arizona decision. It established the legal principle that all...more
On June 17, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Salinas v. Texas, 133 S. Ct. 2174 (2013). The defendant, Genovevo Salinas, had voluntarily accompanied police officers to their station for questioning about a double...more
Can your silence be used against you in a criminal proceeding? Most of us would assume that it cannot because of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and case law interpreting it....more
Overview: The U.S. Supreme Court recently rejected the Fifth Amendment claims of a man whose silence during police questioning was used as evidence of guilt. During a non-custodial interrogation, the murder suspect answered...more