Monday, November 4, 2013

Oregon v. Elstad case brief

Oregon v. Elstad case brief summary
470 U.S. 298 (1985)

CASE SYNOPSIS
On writ of certiorari from the Oregon Court of Appeals, the State sought review of the judgment finding that defendant's waiver of his rights was invalid and reversing his conviction for burglary.

CASE FACTS
Defendant was arrested and convicted of first-degree burglary. The court of appeals reversed the conviction after suppressing defendant's confessions for lack of a valid waiver of defendant's Fifth Amendment rights.

DISCUSSION
  • On review, the Court held that the defendant's statements, made in his own living room and in the presence of his mother before being taken to the police station, were not the subject of police coercion. 
  • The Court also held that a suspect who had once responded to unwarned yet noncoercive questioning was not thereby disabled from waiving his rights and confessing after he had been given the Miranda warnings. 
  • The Court finally held that defendant's waiver of his Fifth Amendment rights after being arrested was done voluntarily and with full understanding of his rights. The Court therefore reversed the holding of the court of appeals.


CONCLUSION
Judgment of the court of appeals reversed and the case remanded because the voluntary and uncoerced statements of defendant prior to being read his Miranda rights did not taint his subsequent waiver of his Fifth Amendment rights.



Recommended Supplements for Criminal Procedure Criminal Procedure: Examples & Explanations, Sixth Edition
Emanuel Law Outline: Criminal Procedure

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