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Supreme Court Limits Miranda Warnings and Holds Incarceration May Not Be Custody

Miranda warnings are required to be given when a suspect is in a custodial setting. If the suspect invokes his right to refuse to answer questions without a lawyer, no questioning can take place. If he starts to answer questions and then asks for a lawyer, questioning must cease. If these rules aren't followed, Edwards v. Arizona allows a subsequent confession to be suppressed. Under Edwards, any subsequent waiver of Miranda rights is presumed involuntary unless the suspect, rather than the police, reinitiated questioning. The

The Supreme Court today ruled in Maryland v. Schatzer that if the suspect asks for a lawyer and is released without questioning taking place, that request is only valid for two weeks. Scotus Blog reports here and has the opinion here. The opinion is written by Justice Scalia. No one dissented, including Sotomayor, but Justices Stevens and Thomas filed their own opinions concurring in part and concurring in the judgment. [More....]

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