Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Law
The Decision Zone: The New Stage Of Interrogation Created By Berghuis V. Thompkins, Meghan M. Morris
The Decision Zone: The New Stage Of Interrogation Created By Berghuis V. Thompkins, Meghan M. Morris
Meghan M Morris
This essay addresses a new stage of interrogation, approved of for the first time in the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision, Berghuis v. Thompkins. This stage – the “decision zone” – is the period, however brief or prolonged, after officers have read a suspect his rights but before the suspect has decided whether to waive or to invoke his rights. In Thompkins, the Supreme Court allowed interrogation during this stage, which lasted almost 3 hours in that case. Through this decision, the Supreme Court implicitly assented to prolonged interrogation before a suspect decides whether to invoke or to waive his rights, …