Justices Ban Double-Questioning Strategy

[jayfish]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5317194/

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The Supreme Court warned police on Monday to stop using a strategy intended to extract confessions from criminal suspects before telling them of their right to remain silent.

The court, on a 5-4 vote, said that deliberately questioning a suspect twice — the first time without reading the Miranda warning — is usually improper.

Criminal defense attorneys and civil libertarians had complained that strategy was being used to get around the Supreme Court’s landmark 1966 Miranda v. Arizona ruling, which requires that suspects in custody be told they have the right to remain silent.
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This is a good decision but can anyone figure out what the hell is going on with the court? How does this jive with the "Yarborough v. Alvarado" case that was just decided this month? This court seems to have a severe personality disorder.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/8813885.htm?1c

NOTE: To view the full text of this story, search google news using "Yarborough v. Alvarado" as your search string. Click the link to the Philly Inq. story.


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WASHINGTON - A sharply split Supreme Court said yesterday that police did not always have to give juveniles the famous Miranda warnings before questioning them, handing an important but narrow victory to law enforcers.

The court said a Los Angeles County sheriff's detective did not violate a 17-year-old's constitutional rights when she questioned him for two hours at a police station before advising him of his right to end the interview or have a lawyer present.
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WTF?????

Jay

Edited For Content.