How have courts interpreted the Miranda safeguards in the context of a claim that a police officer improperly obtained a witness statement?

California, United States of America


The following excerpt is from People v. Chacon, B269955 (Cal. App. 2018):

"In reviewing the trial court's ruling on a claimed Miranda violation, ' "we accept the trial court's resolution of disputed facts and inferences, and its evaluations of credibility, if supported by substantial evidence. We independently determine from [those facts] whether the challenged statement was illegally obtained." ' " (People v. Elizalde (2015) 61 Cal.4th 523, 530 (Elizalde.)

"A defendant who is in custody, as here, must be given Miranda warnings before police officers may interrogate him. (Rhode Island v. Innis (1980) 446 U.S. 291, 297 . . . (Innis).) In Innis, the high court defined the term 'interrogation,' stating that 'the Miranda safeguards come into play whenever a person in custody is subjected to either express questioning or its functional equivalent. That is to say, the term "interrogation" under Miranda refers not only to express questioning, but also to any words or actions on the part of the police (other than those normally attendant to arrest and custody) that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect. The latter portion of this definition focuses primarily upon the perceptions of the suspect, rather than the intent of the police. This focus reflects the fact that the Miranda safeguards were designed to vest a suspect in custody with an added measure of protection against coercive police practices, without regard to objective proof of the underlying intent of the police. A practice that the police should know is reasonably likely to evoke an incriminating response from a suspect thus amounts to interrogation. But, since the police surely cannot be held accountable for the unforeseeable results of their words or actions, the definition of interrogation can extend only to words or actions on the part of police officers that they should have known were

Page 19

Other Questions


Can a defendant who claims self-defense to a charge of battery upon a police officer, who is also charged with battery upon the officer, obtain materials from the police department concerning the propensity for violence against the officer? (California, United States of America)
When reviewing a trial court's decision on the Miranda issue, does the court have to agree that a statement was obtained in violation of the Miranda Act? (California, United States of America)
How have the courts interpreted the Miranda Miranda Miranda Statement? (California, United States of America)
In reviewing a claim that the Miranda rights were violated, how have courts reviewed the evidence in the context of Miranda rights claims? (California, United States of America)
How have the courts interpreted the Miranda Miranda Miranda rights in this context? (California, United States of America)
How have courts interpreted section 1016.5 of the California Immigration Code and how have the courts interpreted the word 'court' in that section? (California, United States of America)
What is the test for admitting an admission of a statement to a police officer that he would kill the first police officer to step inside his cell if he was not permitted to visit with his wife? (California, United States of America)
How have the courts interpreted the meaning of defamatory statements in the context of defamation claims? (California, United States of America)
In what circumstances will police officers be allowed to question a witness in a witness statement? (California, United States of America)
How have courts interpreted the Miranda claim in the context of "custodial interrogation"? (California, United States of America)
X



Alexi white


"The most advanced legal research software ever built."

Trusted by top litigators from across North America.