Summary
U. S. Supreme Court review of a lower court ruling overturning the conviction of a Michigan murderer. Habitual criminal Van Thompkins was found guilty of the gang-style shooting of two men, killing one. Following his arrest, Thompkins was read his Miranda rights and was questioned for three hours. While he did not ask for an attorney, he did limit his responses to "yeah," "no," or "I don't know." Finally, the detective asked him if he wanted God to forgive him for the killing. Thompkins answered, "yes." Substantial evidence of guilt, including his admission, resulted in a guilty verdict. Four courts denied Thompkins' claim that his admission of guilt should have been excluded from trial because the questioning violated his right to remain silent. Later, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, announcing that his limited responses to questioning demonstrated that he did not want to talk to the police. CJLF joined the Supreme Court appeal of that ruling to argue that the state court had reasonably applied established Supreme Court precedent when they affirmed Thompkins' conviction, and the Sixth Circuit had erred in reversing it. The Supreme Court held that the interrogation was proper and reinstated the conviction. [CJLF brief in PDF.]
