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55. Should the defendant's motion be granted?
The defendant has moved to suppress evidence of his statement «I killed the clerk» on the ground that this statement was elicited in violation of his Miranda rights.
A defendant was validly arrested for the murder of a store clerk and was taken to a police station where he was given Miranda warnings. When an interrogator asked the defendant, «Do you understand your Miranda rights, and are you willing to give up those rights and talk to us?» the defendant replied, «Yes.» When asked, «Did you kill the clerk?» the defendant replied, «No.» When asked, «Where were you on the day the clerk was killed?» the defendant replied, «Maybe I should talk to a lawyer.» The interrogator asked, «Are you sure?» and the defendant replied, «I'm not sure.» The interrogator then asked, «Why would you want to talk with a lawyer?» and the defendant replied, «Because I killed the clerk. It was an accident, and I think I need a lawyer to defend me.» At that point all interrogation ceased. Later, the defendant was formally charged with murdering the clerk.
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A is incorrect. On the contrary, the defendant did not effectively assert his right to counsel, which, along with the valid waiver of his Miranda rights, renders the statement admissible. Moreover, the defendant was subject to custodial interrogation because he was at a police station being officially interrogated.
C is incorrect. This answer is partially correct in that the defendant did not effectively assert the right to counsel. However, he unequivocally waived his Miranda rights and his statement «Maybe I should talk to a lawyer» did not affect the validity of that waiver.
D is incorrect. As explained above, the defendant did not effectively assert his right to counsel and he was subject to custodial interrogation, but gave a valid waiver of his rights under Miranda.