Supreme Court Case Study

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The Supreme Court requires that waiver in criminal proceedings be made voluntarily. The Fourth Amendment right against search and seizure may be waived voluntarily when there is a showing of consent. The Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination requires that waiver (in the context of confessions) must be made voluntarily. In Miranda v. Arizona, the Supreme Court made it clear that the voluntariness of the waiver of the Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination was a fundamental concern central to the creation of Miranda Warnings. There, the Court was concerned about the coercive effect of interrogation and sought to protect individuals from the coercion by requiring the iteration of Miranda Warnings in order to establish …show more content…

Although the Fourth Amendment is an exception to the general waiver standard, it is still useful in demonstrating how the Supreme Court analyzes voluntariness. In Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, the Supreme Court discusses two cases in which they reviewed voluntariness in the waiver context. First, in Davis v. U.S., the Court made a finding of voluntary waiver where the Plaintiff unlocked a door at the request of federal agents. The act of unlocking the door served as sufficient action to demonstrate "acquiescence to the demand." While the Court examined other salient facts in their analysis, in is evident that the most significant indicator of voluntariness was in the Plaintiff's actions. In contrast, the Court discussed Bumper v. North Carolina, there, the Court found that the consent was not affirmative, because Defendant claimed to have authority to search Plaintiff's home with a warrant, but did not physically possess the warrant. Accordingly, the Plaintiff did not affirmatively consent to the search, because Defendant misrepresented his authority, effectively coercing Plaintiff into permitting entry onto the property. The Court's discussion of Bumper and Davis provide examples as to what that the Supreme Court is looking for when they analyze the issue of voluntariness. Accordingly, voluntary waiver will be found when there is evidence of consent, that is, that the waiving parties words or actions clearly indicate a willingness to give up a right; and consent is given in the absence of

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