ipl-logo

Miranda Prosecution: A Case Study

1478 Words6 Pages

Point 1. The collected evidence ought to be suppressed for failure to issue Miranda warnings during a custodial interrogation.

Miranda warnings were made mandatory by the Supreme Court to protect the citizenry from hard police interrogation tactics and forced confessions. However, when a private citizen becomes the interrogator outside, the application of Miranda becomes less strict. The Constitution does not restrain a private citizen in the same ways as law enforcement, unless that citizen is acting as an agent of law enforcement. When a private citizen either by his own initiative or at the request of law enforcement gathers evidence with the intent of furthering criminal prosecution, Miranda warnings must be given.

A. Mr. Lake was acting as an agent of law enforcement when he questioned Ms. Greene. There is no clear rule for when a private person is acting as an agent of law enforcement. Every instance of agency must be individually examined. The Fifth Circuit provided a general test for examining agency: 1) whether the government knew or acquiesced in the conduct and 2) whether the party intended to assist law enforcement efforts. United States v. Grimes, 244 F.3d 375 (5th Cir. 2001).
In Ferguson v. City of Charleston the state hospital was dealing with a large number of prospective mothers with narcotics …show more content…

Smith a psychiatrist interviewed the defendant to determine his competency to stand trial. 451 U.S. 454 (1981). The prosecution called the psychiatrist during the sentencing hearing. Id. at 456 He testified, based on his pretrial interview, the defendant was a sociopath, posed a danger to society, was likely to repeat offenses, and was not going to be rehabilitated. Id. Based on that testimony, the jury returned the death penalty. The court ruled the psychiatrist became “like an agent of the state recounting unwarned statements made in post arrest custody.” Id. at 468. Therefore, the defendant was entitled to Miranda warnings.

Show More
Related
395 Words | 2 Pages

On October 1, 2003, Dawna Cantrell was arrested and charged with the murder of her husband and two counts of tampering with evidence. Ms. Cantrell’s competency was questioned after evaluation by the defense expert, Dr. Eric Westfried. After subsequent evaluation by the state’s expert, Dr. Edward Siegel, both experts found that Ms. Cantrell had a “persecutory delusional disorder” and that her mental illness precluded her from assisting her attorney in her defense. The trial court found her incompetent to stand trial and ordered a dangerousness evaluation.

Read More
364 Words | 2 Pages

In 1963, Ernesto Miranda was arrested in Pheonix, Arizona for the kidnapping and raping of a woman. When questioned by police officers, Miranda would eventually give a confession, and sign it, which wasn 't the case.. Before the court, this confession would be used against Miranda, and with it, the implication that it was received voluntarily and with the convicted knowing his rights. Miranda was convicted with a 20-30 year sentence. Upon eventually learning that his confession was obtained unlawfully, Miranda would appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court, asking for an overturn, and when that fell through, would turn to the United States Supreme Court, filing a habeas corpus.

Read More
783 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout this case the supreme court addressed four other cases that involved custodial interrogations. Issues involving this case is whether or not the Fifth Amendment, which gives us the right to self-incrimination, is being violated when someone is put under arrest and is brought in for the purpose of interrogation and is not informed of his rights to not speak

Read More
1100 Words | 5 Pages

The case prosecuted under the court of Appeal of Ontario, Her Majesty the Queen v Danny Lalumiere, in 2011, was intended to appeal the conviction of counseling to commit murder. The appellant argued that the life sentence was not appropriate and was outside the range of sentences imposed on similar offenders for similar offenses. This is an example of a case where legal guilt was used to provide a conviction. The conviction of the appellant was based on the testimony of a psychiatrist doctor, Dr. Pallandi, who provided a profile of the accused and concluded that the appellant was pathologically predisposed to commit an offense. The appellate court ruled against the Crown’s decision at the trial, stating that the appellant lacked moral culpability for his offenses and therefore the sentence was not deserved.

Read More
1053 Words | 5 Pages

Checking to see if someone is competent to stand trial is another investigative technique used by law enforcement. Every citizen has equal protections under the law, so making sure David Berkowitz was able to comprehend the trial was vital. A psychiatrist test was ordered to see if Berkowitz was competent. It determined that Berkowitz was not able to assist in his own defense and did not completely understand the charges against him. They believed he had the capacity to understand these killings were wrong, and know of the charges against him but he suffered from paranoid psychosis that left him emotionally dead, therefore he couldn’t aid in his own defense.

Read More
551 Words | 3 Pages

This violated his fourth and fourteen Amendment rights. The courts made impermissible Use of the testimony even if law enforcement had reasonable suspicion. Rule of law: An individual cannot be brought to a police station and fingerprinted without probable cause or a warrant. The courts compared the cases of Davis v. Mississippi, 394 U.S. 721. (Investigatory detentions).

Read More
1019 Words | 5 Pages

The limit of confidentiality according to American Psychological Association (2018), “should cover the pertinent limitations on confidentiality, including limitations where applicable in group, marital, and family therapy or in organizational consulting, and the foreseeable uses of the information generated through their services.” Also, the limit of confidentiality should cover the permission for electronic recording of interviews and secure it from clients and patients (American Psychological Association, 2018). Identify the factors that might impede competency restoration. The success of competency restoration depends on the defendant responsiveness and to medical treatment if he or she is diagnosed with mental disorders that can render a suspect incompetence to stand trial as; such disorders might include Schizophrenia and the other psychotic disorders.

Read More
938 Words | 4 Pages

The trial court then imposed the death penalty. d. Several times before and during the course of the trial, Cooper’s competence to stand trial due to hallucinatory behavior. A judge considered whether petitioner had the ability to understand the charges against him and to assist defense counsel. i. Specifically, Cooper said he thought his prison clothing was “burning” him, he talked to both himself and an imaginary “spirit” that he believed was providing him with counsel, and he expressed fear that his life was being threated by his own counsel and that they wanted to kill him.

Read More
961 Words | 4 Pages

This piece of the novel is extremely important. It shows the reality of the situation. It is important to the readers to understand that every family has flaws. Capote goes on about how loved and cherish the Clutter’s are and how well known they are. It proves to society that even the most popular, the richest, the luckiest, and the prettiest people out there do not have perfect lives.

Read More
547 Words | 3 Pages

A mental health expert in a criminal trial may offer an opinion on the ultimate legal issue of whether the defendant did or did not have a mental state or condition that constitutes an element of the crime charged or of a defense PA rules of evidence adopted the FRE 704(A) which states that an opinion is not objectionable just because it embraces an ultimate issue. (704(a)). PA rules of evidence does not adopt FRE 704B. However, PA courts have ruled that expert testimony, which concerns a defendant's mental capacity to form the type of specific intent a conviction for murder of the first degree requires, significantly advance the inquiry as to the presence or absence of an essential element of the crime, resulting in relevant testimony. (Commonwealth v. Walzack). In this criminal case a mental health expert is prepared to offer an opinion on the whether the defendant was insane at the time of the offense.

Read More
1025 Words | 5 Pages

By claiming insanity a defendant has stated that he or she did not know the action was wrong and could not fully comprehend the results of this action. Kuersten then supplies the reader with more details of a particular case, the Reagan shooting, by stating how the depositions from a Neurologists and a Psychiatrist's benefited the case, permitting the judge and jury to have a more scientific understanding of the evidence. “The shooter’s brain has relatively enlarged sulci and ventricles, signifying shrinkage and decay. A psychiatrists testifies that these characteristics are associated with Schizophrenia.” With this knowledge about the defendant's brain jurors may be leaning towards the insanity plea with sympathetic views towards the defendant's actions.

Read More
1227 Words | 5 Pages

’’ All law enforcement must inform suspects of their rights, also known as the Miranda Rights. Guilty or not his rights were violated and the Bill of Rights includes amendments for the

Read More
883 Words | 4 Pages

The creation of the United States and the colonies that came before, brought about many legal traditions and precedents. Among these legal traditions and precedents, is an essential precedent present in all interrogation related proceedings and court ones—the Miranda warning. When an individual is detained, they may be subjected to an interrogation by designated officials. During an interrogation certain rights are guaranteed to an individual through the provision of the Bill of Rights to prevent self-incrimination and the historical precedent established before it. However, in certain situations, these rights were not always guaranteed as they should’ve been.

Read More
376 Words | 2 Pages

If a person choses to waive their rights, they will not have the legal consultation of an attorney to help guide them through the interrogation process. With the flood of emotions that the suspect may be feeling, there are

Read More
890 Words | 4 Pages

Even though what Miranda did was a violent and horrible action. His trial still brought up controversy in the court system which later turned into a Miranda warning card that police stations around the country use to this

Read More

More about Miranda Prosecution: A Case Study

Related Topics

Open Document