NCJ Number
99303
Journal
Willamette Law Review Volume: 21 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1985) Pages: 181-186
Date Published
1985
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This commentary examines the holding of the Oregon Court of Appeals in State v. Hackworth, which addresses the need for a Miranda warning during a roadside interrogation by law enforcement officers.
Abstract
In this case, Hackworth was charged with and convicted of driving under the influence following police interrogation relating to a vehicular accident. Hackworth appealed the conviction, claiming that the trial court erred in not suppressing evidence obtained prior to the issuance of a Miranda warning on two grounds: that the officer had formed an initial subjective intent to arrest and that the roadside stop constituted a significant deprivation of freedom requiring a Miranda warning. In deciding the case, the court adopted the reasonable-person-in-defendant's-situation standard put forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in Berkemer v. McCarty. The Oregon court found that a reasonable person subject to roadside interrogation would not believe he was in custody or under restraints similar to a formal arrest. The court further held that the brevity and relatively noncoercive nature of a roadside stop did not constitute a deprivation of freedom sufficient to trigger a Miranda warning. Thus, in Oregon, under these circumstances, formal arrest will be the threshold for a Miranda warning. The defendant's conviction was affirmed. Included are 31 footnotes.