Miranda v. Arizona · ¶207

Although in the Court’s view in-custody interrogation is inherently coercive, the Court says that the spontaneous product of the coercion of arrest and detention is still to be deemed voluntary. An accused, arrested on probable cause, may blurt out a confession which will be admissible despite the fact that he is alone and in custody, without any showing that he had any notion of his right to remain silent or of the consequences of his admission. Yet, under the Court’s rule, if the police ask him a single question such as “Do you have anything to say?” or “Did you kill your wife?” his response, if there is one, has somehow been compelled, even if the accused has been clearly warned of his right to remain silent. Common sense informs- us to the contrary. While one may say that the response was “involuntary” in the sense the question provoked or was the occasion for the response and thus…

U. S. Reports, bound volume
U. S. Reports, volume 384, at 436 (Library of Congress) · transcription: Caselaw Access Project
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