Suspects Must Say They Want to Remain Silent: Supreme Court

Just remaining silent isn't enough to invoke Miranda protection
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 1, 2010 10:11 AM CDT
Suspects Must Say They Want to Remain Silent
FILE - In this April 9, 2010 file photo the Supreme Court is seen in Washington. Since the country's birth, the primary mission of the American political party has been this: amass power by recruiting candidates, raising money and spreading messages. In short, a holding company that elects people _...   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

The Supreme Court says suspects must explicitly tell police they want to be silent in order to invoke their Miranda protection during interrogations. Merely remaining silent doesn't do the job: The justices said today suspects must tell police they are going to remain silent to stop legally admissible questioning, just as they must tell police that they want a lawyer.

The ruling comes in a case in which a suspect remained mostly silent during a 3-hour police interrogation before implicating himself in a murder. He appealed his conviction, saying that he invoked his Miranda right to remain silent by remaining silent. (More US Supreme Court stories.)

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