Thurgood Marshall

“ Eagan was initially advised that he had the right to the presence of counsel before and during questioning. But in the very next breath, the police informed Eagan that, if he could not afford a lawyer, one would be appointed to represent him only "if and when" he went to court. As the Court of Appeals found, Eagan could easily have concluded from the "if and when" caveat that only "those accused who can afford an attorney have the right to have one present before answering any questions; those who are not so fortunate must wait." ”

“ In lawyerlike fashion, THE CHIEF JUSTICE parses the initial warnings given Eagan and finds that the most plausible interpretation is that Eagan would not be questioned until a lawyer was appointed when he later appeared in court. What goes wholly overlooked in THE CHIEF JUSTICE's analysis is that the recipients of police warnings are often frightened suspects unlettered in the law, not lawyers or judges or others schooled in interpreting legal or semantic nuance. ”

“ To the average accused, still hoping at this stage to be home on time for dinner or to make it to work on time, the implication that his choice is to answer questions right away or remain in custody until that nebulous time 'if and when' he goes to court is a coerced choice of the most obvious kind. ”

“ Excluding probative evidence years after trial, when a new trial may be a practical impossibility, will often result in the release of an admittedly guilty individual who may pose a continuing threat to society. ”

“ This logic sweeps within its broad compass claims far beyond those based on Miranda. Once the specter is raised that federal habeas review may lead to the release of guilty criminals, it is difficult to imagine any non-guilt-related claim that would be worthy of collateral protection. What Justice O'CONNOR ignores is that Congress believed that defendants have rights, often unrelated to guilt or innocence, that are worthy of collateral protection despite the apparent costs to society. ”

“ Justice O'CONNOR's extension of iStone overlooks another difference between claims based on the exclusionary rule and claims based on Miranda. According to the Stone majority, the primary justification for the exclusionary rule is the deterrence of police misconduct. ”

“ Taylor, 461 U.S. 571, 573, 103 S.Ct. 2015, 2016, 76 L.Ed.2d 333 (1983) (per curiam ) (" [I] f the statements were involuntary, and therefore obtained in violation of the Fifth Amendment, . . . the federal courts [could] grant relief on collateral review") . Such claims require significant judicial attention because " [d] ifficulties of proof and subtleties of interrogation technique [make] it impossible in most cases for the judiciary to decide with confidence whether the defendant had voluntarily confessed his guilt or whether his testimony had been unconstitutionally compelled." ”