Читать книгу Animal Cruelty Investigations - Группа авторов - Страница 162

When a suspect is interviewed by law enforcement or other agent of the state in a custodial setting, the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments of the Constitution afford them due process rights (privilege against self‐incrimination, right to counsel) [1]. The Supreme Court of the United States has found that, prior to questioning a suspect in that setting, you must provide them with warnings of their constitutional rights [2]. If you are a law enforcement officer, you have been trained on Miranda warnings and the circumstances in which they should be given, but a court could decide to hold any individual acting as an agent of the state to the same standard. Miranda warnings must be given in order to question a suspect in a custodial setting [2]. Whether a setting is considered “custodial” is determined by an assessment of all the circumstances, such as the location, the duration, the statements made, or physical restraint [3–5]. A court will evaluate whether a reasonable person in those circumstances would have felt free to leave [6].

Similarly, if the suspect makes a confession, a judge will evaluate the circumstances of that confession to determine if it was voluntary and admissible. A confession is defined as “any confession of guilt of any criminal offense or any self‐incriminating statement made or given orally or in writing” [7]. The court can look at factors, such as the timing of the confession in the context of the arrest or arraignment, or whether the suspect knew the nature of the offense, or whether the suspect had been advised of their right to an attorney and did they have an attorney present [8].

If a suspect chooses to waive their rights and decides to respond to your questions without an attorney present, they can also choose to reassert them at any time during the interview. A suspect has the right to remain silent and not answer any questions. A suspect is also constitutionally protected when they decide to answer some questions but invoke their right to remain silent on other questions [9].

A suspect has a right to an attorney and the minute they request an attorney all questioning must cease. Although the suspect “must unambiguously request counsel,” [10] such “that a reasonable police officer in the circumstances would understand the statement to be a request for an attorney” [10], there is no set terminology for this request. Statements such as “I think I should get a lawyer” and “[m]aybe I should talk to a lawyer” have been upheld as invocations of a suspect's right to counsel [11, 12]. If you improperly continue to question a suspect after they have requested an attorney, that part of your interview will be inadmissible as evidence. Be aware of your surroundings and the statements made by the person you are questioning at all times as they will be scrutinized later in court.