June 1, 2010:  The U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that a suspect's silence is ineffective to invoke their 5th Amendment right against self incrimination.  In Berghuis v. Thompkins, the suspect, Thompkins, was read his rights before being interrogated.  Thompkins himself read aloud his rights but refused to sign that he had read and understood them.  At no point did Thompkins tell the officers that he wanted to remain silent or request legal counsel.  Thompkins remained mostly silent except for occasional one word responses to the officers' questions. 2 hours 45 minutes into the interrogation, a Detective  asked Thompkins if he believed in God.  Thompkins said yes. Then the Detective asked: "Did you pray to God to forgive you for shooting that boy down?" And Thompkins said yes again.  The case against Thompkins was based on his statement and he was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.  Thompkins lawyers argued that the statement should not have been admitted into evidence and that Thompkins, by remaining silent, had invoked his 5th Amendment right.  The 5-4 decision reversed a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in favor of Thompkins.  Siding with the majority were Kennedy, Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito. Siding with the minority were Justices Sotomayor, John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer.

 

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