Teen Argues Miranda Rights Can’t Be Read to Juveniles in Midst of Questioning

By Kathleen Maloney | 

Miranda rights are well known because they’re frequently recited in police and legal television shows. The right to remain silent, the right to an attorney during questioning, and the right to have an attorney appointed if a person can’t afford one. Also required is notification that any statements made can be used in court.

In 2019, a 15-year-old in Cleveland was questioned by law enforcement in his home. Detectives were investigating the shooting death of a 14-year-old. They were acting on a tip from local high school staff that the 15-year-old, identified as “T.D.S.,” had shot the other youth during an argument about a firearm.

T.D.S.’s mother and sister were in the home while he was questioned. T.D.S. denied involvement in the shooting for about an hour. At that point, he said he shot the 14-year-old accidentally. A detective read T.D.S. his Miranda rights, and the teen continued to talk. Police then took T.D.S. to look for the firearm, which wasn’t located, and to the police station for further questioning and to make another statement.

Teen Wants Statements Suppressed
In Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court, T.D.S. asked for the court to exclude his statements to the detectives. The juvenile court ruled the prosecutor couldn’t use what T.D.S. had said before the police read his Miranda rights. But the teen’s statements after his rights were read could be considered, the court determined.

T.D.S. was found delinquent for several acts, including what would be felony murder for an adult. He was sent to the Department of Youth Services until the age of 21. On appeal, the Eighth District Court of Appeals upheld his conviction.

T.D.S. appealed to the Supreme Court of Ohio, asking whether statements are admissible in court when made by a juvenile who is questioned first, then read the Miranda rights in the middle of the interview. The Supreme Court will hear In re T.D.S. at next week’s oral arguments.

Two-Step Interrogation Not Permitted, Juvenile Maintains
Miranda rights are based on the 1966 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miranda v. Arizona, which ruled that procedural safeguards must be taken to ensure a person’s constitutional protection against self-incrimination during a custodial interrogation.

T.D.S. argues the police used a “deliberate two-step interrogation” when questioning him. The approach is highly concerning when the suspect is a juvenile, he contends. He maintains that juveniles are unlikely to have clarity about their options after already making statements to the police or to understand the consequences of abandoning their rights.

The teen waived his rights after they were read, but he argues the circumstances show his waiver wasn’t voluntary. Three white, armed officers entered his home and stood in various doorways while talking with him – a short, 100-pound Black juvenile, he notes. He says the police told him the judge wouldn’t sentence him to life in prison if he admitted involvement. He also notes that his mother wasn’t with him when the police took him to the police station.

Teen Understood Rights, Knew He Could Halt Questioning, State Asserts
The Cuyahoga County prosecutor counters that the discussion before T.D.S. was read his rights wasn’t a custodial interrogation. The prosecutor maintains that the teen was free to move around the room and his mother was there. He wasn’t restrained or coerced during the questioning, and he had a level of understanding that led him to challenge certain comments made by police, the prosecutor notes.

The prosecutor argues that a reasonable 15-year-old would have felt free to end the questioning. And the evidence shows T.D.S. knew what he was doing when he waived his rights, the prosecutor maintains. The circumstances make clear that T.D.S.’s statements after his rights were read can be considered in court, the prosecutor concludes.

The Court will hear three cases on May 2 and four more, including T.D.S., on May 3. Oral arguments begin each day at 9 a.m. The arguments will be streamed live online at supremecourt.ohio.gov and broadcast live on the Ohio Channel, where they are archived.

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