 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
Hughes v. State6/17/1997
5-minute 'background' interview was designed to elicit 'incriminating' responses...."). Therefore, the inclusion of this question on a standard booking form is not necessarily determinative. We noticed that the Prince George's County Police Department arrest report also contains an area in which the officer is to list the names of any "accomplices" in the suspected criminal activity. Surely, the State would not argue that inquiring as to a suspect's confederates in crime amounts to a routine booking question, yet this question is nevertheless included on the arrest report.
In addition, as explained in section III above, a seemingly benign question may be reasonably likely to evoke a self-incriminating response in certain circumstances. Hence, that the drug use question is asked of every arrestee is similarly not dispositive. The totality of the circumstances determines whether a question is reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response. Where an individual is arrested on drug charges, as was the petitioner, most questions about drug use seem particularly likely to call for an incriminating response. See Nasiriddin v. State, 16 Md. App. 479, 500-01, 298 A.2d 490, 502-03 (Miranda precluded question as to whether suspect had a drug problem where officer knew that drug paraphernalia had been found in suspect's vehicle), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1028, 94 S. Ct. 458, 38 L. Ed. 2d 321 (1973). In the instant case, Officer Morrissette knew that the petitioner had been arrested in connection with a narcotics distribution surveillance operation. The petitioner's negative response to the drug use question was thus inculpatory in that it supported the charge that he intended to distribute, as opposed to consume, the cocaine. Answering the question in the affirmative, however, would have amounted to an admission that he engages in criminal behavior. Regardless of the officer's intent in asking the question, therefore, the question was more than reasonably likely to evoke an incriminating response; it was almost certain to do so.
The State also asserts that the question is a valid means of redressing certain administrative concerns; namely, that (1) knowledge of the potential of illness or violence resulting from drug withdrawal will enable the police to provide necessary medical treatment to the suspect, and to protect others from harm; and that (2) the information is helpful because the fact that a suspect is under the influence of drugs may affect the voluntariness of any confession procured. The intermediate appellate court agreed that the drug use question is "relevant to whether an arrestee might need medical services." There is nothing in the record to suggest, however, that the petitioner might have been under the influence of "narcotics or drugs" or that he otherwise might have been in need of medical services.
Furthermore, if the police department is concerned about violence or illness resulting from drug use or other such concerns, the appropriate question would appear to be whether the suspect is currently under the influence of any narcotics or drugs, as opposed to whether the suspect is generally a narcotics or drug user. It would also seem advisable to inquire as to whether the suspect is taking any prescription medication that might similarly affect the well-being of the suspect or those around him, rather than restrict the inquiry to narcotics or drugs.
We do not mean to suggest that any particular modification of the question would necessarily fall within the routine booking question exception, but we wish to point out that a question directed toward the present physical state of the suspect seems better-suited to redress the "administrative concerns" cited by th
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Maryland DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|