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All Coercive State Interrogations, Including of Juveniles, Have Constitutional Due-Process Protections
Cleveland Plain Dealer / cleveland.com
  • Jonathan Witmer-Rich, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland State University
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-18-2020
Keywords
  • Ohio Supreme Court,
  • juveniles,
  • coercion,
  • confession,
  • interrogation
Abstract

This op-ed criticizes a recent Ohio Supreme Court case, In re M.H., in which the Court held that the confession of a juvenile to a child protective services officer was voluntary. According to the Court's plurality opinion, a confession can be rendered involuntary only when a police officer conducts the interrogation. Thus, no matter what the child protective services investigator does during an interrogation, a resulting confession is always voluntary simply because the interrogator is not a police officer. Witmer-Rich criticizes this rule as inconsistent with fundamental principles of liberty and due process.

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Citation Information
Jonathan Witmer-Rich. "All Coercive State Interrogations, Including of Juveniles, Have Constitutional Due-Process Protections" Cleveland Plain Dealer / cleveland.com (2020)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jonathan_witmer_rich/31/