Article
All Coercive State Interrogations, Including of Juveniles, Have Constitutional Due-Process Protections
Cleveland Plain Dealer / cleveland.com
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-18-2020
Keywords
- Ohio Supreme Court,
- juveniles,
- coercion,
- confession,
- interrogation
Disciplines
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.
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/
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