Laws Concerning Police Questioning
It is important to know a few details about the laws concerning police questioning. Armed with such knowledge, you can use those laws to protect yourself against police misconduct. The way a police officer questions a criminal suspect is regulated under a variety of different laws, including U.S. Supreme Court case law, the U.S. Constitution and state law.
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Fruit of the Poisonous Tree Doctrine
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A police questioning may be regulated under the "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" doctrine (FPT). The FPT doctrine is a law created by the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent the prosecution's use of all evidence obtained by the police as a result of an illegal search or seizure. If the police obtain such evidence, then it may not be admitted against the accused at trial. For example, a police officer, without a warrant or probable cause, grabs a woman's purse and reaches inside to find a bag of cocaine. The officer then angrily questions the woman by asking if the cocaine is hers. She then admits that the cocaine is hers. This officer has committed an illegal search and seizure of the woman's purse.
Fifth Amendment
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A police questioning may be regulated under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Fifth Amendment requires that whenever police officers are conducting a custodial questioning, they must give the accused his Miranda rights. Police questioning is called "custodial" when it occurs during an arrest.
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Sixth Amendment
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A police questioning may be regulated under the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The Sixth Amendment prohibits the police from questioning an accused charged with a crime outside the presence of his attorney unless he has waived counsel.
14th Amendment State Laws
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A police questioning may be regulated under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The 14th Amendment prevents the admission of involuntary self-incriminating statements. This means that the police cannot use force or fear on a person to make him confess to a crime.
State Laws
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Police questioning may also be regulated by state law. The Supreme Court has ruled that a state may give citizens more rights than those found in the federal constitution. Thus, a state may forbid police questioning of a suspect until after the suspect has been charged (unless the suspect voluntarily agrees to be questioned) even though the federal constitution sometimes permits questioning a suspect before he is charged.
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