Interrogation Self-Quiz
Frank Curdew
in taken in handcuffs to the police station and charged with stealing
chickens. He is taken into a room with the words “Interrogation
Room” written in large letters across the door. He is told to sit
down and wait for an officer to come in, and the door is closed and locked
behind him. In the room is a table which contains paper and a pen. After
twenty minutes of waiting, Frank decides he might as well get this over
with and writes out his confession. Can the confession be used against
him at trial?
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In the set
of facts above, assume that the paper placed on the table said “Confession
Form” at the top. It further reads “I, Frank Curdew, hereby
admit my fault and confess to violating U.S.C.A. Section 435.7, theft
of poultry and transportation thereof across state lines.” After
twenty minutes of waiting, as beads of sweat fall from Curdew’s
face onto the paper, he signs the form and starts pounding on the door
“Now let me out you monsters!” Can the confession be used
against him at trial?
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P. G. Herman
is a suspected of various sex crimes. Officer Dirk Diggler follows Herman
into an X-rated movie theater and sits down next to him. “I’m
Officer Diggler, and I want to know what you’ve been doing lately,
Herman. I know you’re up to no good, and that you’re a pervert.
Come clean, Herman, come clean. Tell me now, Herman. C’mon, let’s
hear it. Well? How about it?” Diggler continues in this vein for
several minutes at which point Herman confesses.
Evaluate the following statement: Herman’s extrajudicial confession cannot be used against him at his criminal trial because his Fifth Amendment rights would be violated by such use. |
P. G. Herman
is in trouble again. He has been taken into custody by the L.A.P.D. for
stealing newspapers and is sitting in the hallway handcuffed to a bench.
Patrolman Peters is just coming into the precinct house at the end of
a long, hard shift. Too tired to make it to the locker room, he decides
to sit on the hallway bench and catch his breath. Noticing Herman, he
asks “Hey, didn’t I see you soliciting prostitution the other
night?” Herman replies “Were you in that patrol car? Yeah,
that was me. Couldn’t agree on a price, though, so I went home alone.”
Can Herman’s confession to Peters be used against him at his criminal
trial?
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