Miranda v. Arizona Self-Quiz
Frank, an
undercover cop, is at Drew’s house watching a football game. Drew
is an illegal arms dealer. Frank has spent months establishing his cover
and Drew believes him to be just another street thug with connections
to people with money. When the game is over Frank leaps from his chair
and yells “I’m not lettin’ you outta here until you
tell me who supplies you with your guns!” Drew gets scared and tells
Frank everything he knows. Frank then tell Drew that he’s a cop
and arrests Drew. Can Drew’s extrajudicial confession be used against
him in a court of law?
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David is arrested
for real estate fraud and is properly Mirandized. After several minutes
of questioning David says “I don’t want to talk to you guys
any more. I got the right to remain silent,” and makes a gesture
of closing a zipper on his mouth. He is brought to the general holding
cell and left there for about one hour. David is then brought back to
the interrogation room, given his Miranda warnings again, and asked about
the recent theft of some rare guitars. He answers the first few questions,
telling police where he hid the stolen instruments. Then, as if suddenly
realizing that he had asserted his right to remain silent, he makes the
zipper gesture once again and falls silent. Can his responses regarding
the location of the guitars be used against him at trial?
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When David
asserts his right to remain silent regarding the guitar case, he opened
his mouth again to say “And I’m not answering any more questions
about those damn guitars until my lawyer gets here.” Unfortunately,
David’s lawyer is taking his afternoon nap and cannot get there
anytime soon. He is put back in the holding cell, and two hours later
he is once again brought to the now-familiar interrogation room. He is
truthfully informed that his lawyer won’t be able to get there for
another few hours and he is given his Miranda warnings yet again. His
questioners then point out that if he cooperates he might be able to get
himself out before his lawyer even gets there, and then ask him some questions
about a hit-and-run case involving a car matching the description of his
Toyota. He refuses to answer the first few questions but finally blurts
out in response “Yeah, that was my car, but I drink a lot and I
don’t remember anything like that happening. I just woke up one
morning and found the dents and blood.” Can this statement be used
against David in his trial?
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Stew retired
to Florida a few years ago to enjoy the sunshine and mellow atmosphere.
Unfortunately, relaxing comes hard to Stew, knowing that he retired from
a life in organized crime in New Jersey and could still end up doing time
for some of his crimes. When Stew’s house is robbed he goes to the
local police precinct to file a report. Coincidentally, the officer taking
the report used to be a New Jersey cop, and remembers Stew from his days
there. While taking down some standard information like name and address
Officer Alto asks “Hey, you remember that year when all those trucks
got hijacked? I wonder what happened to the trucks. They never was found.”
Stew replies “Yeah? I’m pretty sure dem trucks got dumped
in da river. Yeah…pretty damn sure.” Stew’s response
is best characterized as:
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Stew’s
comments to Alto are enough for Alto to take him into custody for further
questioning. He is brought to an interrogation room and asked more questions
about the trucks. He is not given a Miranda warning. At one point during
the interrogation, Stew responds to a question by saying that “Jimmy
Kay was in on the whole bit. He drove dem trucks from da warehouse in
Joisey and put ‘em in da river.”
Which of the following is most accurate? |
Simple Simon
is taken into custody and brought to the police station for questioning.
Officer E. M. Pethy gives Simon the following warning in lieu of reading
the usual Miranda statement prepared by the District Attorney’s
office:
“You don’t have to talk to us and you don’t have to say anything you don’t want to say, Simon. You can wait until your lawyer gets here and stay quiet until then. But if you do feel like saying something, remember it could hurt you in court, because we could use it against you.” Simon says “I want to tell you everything. I touched them. I touched their heads, and I touched their hips.” Can the statement be used against Simon in his trial? |
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