NCJ Number
112961
Journal
Wayne Law Review Volume: 34 Issue: 1 Dated: (Fall 1987) Pages: 331-356
Date Published
1987
Length
26 pages
Annotation
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Moran v. Burbine (1986), which ruled that the police need not honor retained counsel's request to meet with a custodial suspect, is contradictory and conducive to future litigation in this area. An alternative approach is needed.
Abstract
In its 'Burbine' decision, the Court rejected numerous State decisions on the subject and created a vague due process concept supposedly designed to protect the constitutional rights of custodial suspects. The Court, however, has shifted the controversy surrounding a suspect's custodial rights from the 5th amendment to the 14th amendment (the due process clause). The Court failed to establish clear guidelines for lower courts, prosecutors, and police in determining whether due process rights are violated when confronted with police conduct deemed more culpable than that conduct involved in 'Burbine.' The proposed alternate approach would adequately safeguard society's interest in convicting the guilty while reducing the coercion inherent in custodial interrogations, thus complying with the purpose of 'Miranda.' 119 footnotes.