Monday
Oct052009
Court Hears Arguments On Police Interrogations
Monday, October 5, 2009 at 12:27PM
In 2003, Michael Shatzer Sr. was serving a sentence at the Maryland Correctional Institution for sexually abusing a minor. When police asked him if he had ever sexually abused his son, Shatzer refused to answer and said he wanted to speak with a lawyer. In 2006, investigators returned, and Shatzer incriminated himself. In court, Shatzer’s attorney asked that the comments be stricken from the record on the grounds that police can not reopen questioning after a suspect requests counsel.
Today the Supreme Court took up the question of whether police can approach a suspect after he requests a lawyer. The 1981 Supreme Court precedent on police questioning holds that law enforcement officials are not allowed to badger a suspect into confessing by repeatedly asking if he wants to talk. The twist in the Shatzer case is that there was a two-and-a-half year delay from when police first questioned him to when he was later approached by investigators at a separate detention facility.
The bright-line rule established by the 1981 ruling is easily enforced: if there’s no lawyer, and if the suspect has not voluntarily said he wants to speak without a lawyer, and if the suspect has not been allowed to go home, the police cannot approach him to ask him about any crime. The rule is there to prevent suspects from incriminating themselves and to prevent police from badgering them into confessing.
Justice Antonin Scalia took issue with the argument made by Shatzer’s lawyer that coming back after two and a half years is “badgering,” and the lawyer seemed to admit that “badgering” isn’t the right term. Still, the lawyer argued, the police should not be allowed to approach the suspect, since any standard that allowed the police to approach after a certain amount of time would be hard to enforce. On the other hand, other justices pointed out that it would be hard for police to determine whether a suspect has ever before asked for a lawyer, even during questioning years earlier, before asking questions.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, who will likely be the swing voter in the case, seemed concerned with the police’s argument that Shatzer’s “release” back into the prison population after his interrogation in 2003 eliminates the possibility of coercion by police. Justice Kennedy suggested that the prison warden could, for example, put some pressure on the suspect by putting him in a better or worse cell to encourage him to talk to police.
The Supreme Court will release its decision on the case later this year.
Today the Supreme Court took up the question of whether police can approach a suspect after he requests a lawyer. The 1981 Supreme Court precedent on police questioning holds that law enforcement officials are not allowed to badger a suspect into confessing by repeatedly asking if he wants to talk. The twist in the Shatzer case is that there was a two-and-a-half year delay from when police first questioned him to when he was later approached by investigators at a separate detention facility.
The bright-line rule established by the 1981 ruling is easily enforced: if there’s no lawyer, and if the suspect has not voluntarily said he wants to speak without a lawyer, and if the suspect has not been allowed to go home, the police cannot approach him to ask him about any crime. The rule is there to prevent suspects from incriminating themselves and to prevent police from badgering them into confessing.
Justice Antonin Scalia took issue with the argument made by Shatzer’s lawyer that coming back after two and a half years is “badgering,” and the lawyer seemed to admit that “badgering” isn’t the right term. Still, the lawyer argued, the police should not be allowed to approach the suspect, since any standard that allowed the police to approach after a certain amount of time would be hard to enforce. On the other hand, other justices pointed out that it would be hard for police to determine whether a suspect has ever before asked for a lawyer, even during questioning years earlier, before asking questions.
Justice Anthony Kennedy, who will likely be the swing voter in the case, seemed concerned with the police’s argument that Shatzer’s “release” back into the prison population after his interrogation in 2003 eliminates the possibility of coercion by police. Justice Kennedy suggested that the prison warden could, for example, put some pressure on the suspect by putting him in a better or worse cell to encourage him to talk to police.
The Supreme Court will release its decision on the case later this year.
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