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Court weighs if silence alone can invoke Miranda
AP via Yahoo News ^ | Mar 1, 2010 | JESSE J. HOLLAND

Posted on 03/02/2010 1:49:14 AM PST by paudio

Police told Van Chester Thompkins he had a right to remain silent, and so he did.

But his silence meant he never officially told officers he wasn't going to talk, and so they kept interrogating him. A couple of hours later, Thompkins implicated himself in a murder.

Several Supreme Court justices indicated Monday they were going to let that confession stand, saying suspects should tell police that they want to be silent to take advantage of that Miranda right.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; Government
KEYWORDS: miranda

1 posted on 03/02/2010 1:49:14 AM PST by paudio
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To: paudio

LOL - “You have the right to know the judicial decisions about your right to remain silent. You have the right to know you have to give up your right to remain silent in order to request an attorney. Should you request an attorney, you will have given up your right to remain silent. Any questions?”


2 posted on 03/02/2010 1:52:59 AM PST by Talisker (When you find a turtle on top of a fence post, you can be damn sure it didn't get there on it's own.)
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To: paudio

LOL - “You have the right to know the judicial decisions about your right to remain silent. You have the right to know you have to give up your right to remain silent in order to request an attorney. Should you request an attorney, you will have given up your right to remain silent. Any questions?”


3 posted on 03/02/2010 1:53:00 AM PST by Talisker (When you find a turtle on top of a fence post, you can be damn sure it didn't get there on it's own.)
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To: paudio

It took the cops about three hours to get just my name once. Then they took me to an interview room and slid a paper across the table at me asking me to sign it so I could make a statement. One of the agents even pointed to what box he wanted me to check so I could waive my right to remain silent. At which time I spoke for only the second time, “Are you out of your ever loving mind? I ain’t signing a damned thing.”

That was it. They turned off the video camera and hauled my ass to county. I was arraigned the next day, posted bail and got released. My lawyer got me off completely and said it was due to having kept my mouth shut.


4 posted on 03/02/2010 2:04:59 AM PST by Bad Jack Bauer (Fat and Bald? I was BORN fat and bald, thank you very much!)
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To: paudio
This is interesting in light of the recent decision:

Supreme Court sets aside strict ruling on Miranda 'right to remain silent'

5 posted on 03/02/2010 2:11:20 AM PST by paudio (Are you better off today than in 2006, when the Democrats took over the Congress?)
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To: Bad Jack Bauer

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4097602514885833865#

Don’t talk to the police.


6 posted on 03/02/2010 2:14:17 AM PST by James C. Bennett
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To: James C. Bennett
Don’t talk to the police.

It also helps if they never find the body. Heh! Heh! Heh!
7 posted on 03/02/2010 2:19:12 AM PST by Bad Jack Bauer (Fat and Bald? I was BORN fat and bald, thank you very much!)
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To: James C. Bennett

Cripes! Can you imagine trying to take notes in his class?


8 posted on 03/02/2010 3:05:10 AM PST by raybbr
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To: paudio

As for me, I plan to be nice to the cops, apologize, then explain why I intend to remain silent, and then do so. Thats it.


9 posted on 03/02/2010 3:05:23 AM PST by Paradox (The Party of Know.)
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To: Bad Jack Bauer
"My lawyer got me off completely and said it was due to having kept my mouth shut."

Exactly. I've only been in the situation once myself and had a similar experience. They were actually trying to tell me that Miranda, which they had done appropriately, was a 'formality' and once done did not preclude me from still being interviewed and offering answers to aid in my defense!! I just kept saying that I was going to exercise my right to remain silent. They were not happy but did back off. Like you, my lawyer attributed his ability to structure the defense successfully to nothing having been said at the arrest.

10 posted on 03/02/2010 3:24:42 AM PST by n230099
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To: paudio

I agree with Scalia. Make it plain.


11 posted on 03/02/2010 3:38:57 AM PST by Scotsman will be Free (11C - Indirect fire, infantry - High angle hell - We will bring you, FIRE)
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To: Bad Jack Bauer
"...My lawyer got me off completely..."

This statement, repeated far too often, doesn't make me happy. :(

Miranda Rights—forged in the Liberal/Progressive Earl Warren Court—have "Loosed the Hounds" of Murder and Mayhem all over this country.

(Then Canada and the UK follow suit!)

≡≡8-O

12 posted on 03/02/2010 3:40:09 AM PST by Does so (ObamaCare...I pay for medical-marijuana claims by millions of Americans?)
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To: Does so
This statement, repeated far too often, doesn't make me happy. :(

My view is that as an American citizen, they want to charge me with a crime, they damned well better prove it in court and they are obliged to consider me innocent until a jury says different. Whether I did it or not is not the question. Can they prove it and not violate any Constitutional safeguards?
13 posted on 03/02/2010 3:54:13 AM PST by Bad Jack Bauer (Fat and Bald? I was BORN fat and bald, thank you very much!)
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