Oregon v. Elstad

Oregon v. Elstad

MERITS:

Officers Burke and McAllister of the Polk County, Oregon Sheriff's office, on the basis of a witness' statement, obtained an arrest warrant for Michael Elstad, who was suspected of burglary. The officers went to Elstad's home and were escorted to his room by his mother. After instructing the respondent to dress and accompany them to the living room, Officer McAllister took Elstad's mother into the kitchen while Officer Burke stayed with the respondent. Without advising Elstad of his Miranda rights, Officer Burke asked him whether he was aware of the officer's reason for wanting to talk with him, and whether he knew Mr. and Mrs. Gross (the victims). Elstad stated that he knew the Grosses, and that he'd heard they'd been burglarized. Burke replied that he thought Elstad was involved in the burglary, and the respondent admitted, "Yes, I was there." He was then taken to the Sheriff's office and was subsequently advised of his Miranda rights. Elstad stated that he understood his rights and that he would give a statement, which he did in detail. His confession was read back to him and read by him. Elstad initialed and signed the statement and also added a sentence ("After leaving the house Robby and I went back to [the] van and Robby handed me a small bag of grass") to it. Elstad maintained that at no time did the officers make threats or promises to him. He was charged with first degree burglary and opted against a jury trial. Defense immediately moved to suppress both Elstad's initial verbal statement and the signed confession, contending that the initial statement he made at his house to Officer Burke "let the cat out of the bag," causing his ensuing written confession to be tainted as "...

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... - that, due to his lack of understanding of criminal process, compelled him to make another, legally admissible statement. Elstad is representative of the average suspect - typically a member of the lower class--in that he was not well acquainted with due process. Had Elstad an education in criminal procedure, or a lawyer on retainer, this case would have quite likely progressed in an entirely different manner, if at all, as either condition would have prevented both his initial admission and his ignorant decision that the cat was already out of the bag. But as the criminal justice system is biased against those who are without education or means to high-priced council, it stands to reason that the Supreme Court decided to discount the accused's confusion as to the admissibility of his initial statement, thus finding against the uneducated, unadvised lower class.