Edwards v. Arizona
| Edwards v. Arizona | |
|---|---|
| Argued November 5, 1980 Decided May 18, 1981 | |
| Full case name | Robert Edwards, Petitioner v. State of Arizona |
| Docket no. | 79-5269 |
| Citations | 451 U.S. 477 (more) 101 S. Ct. 1880; 68 L. Ed. 2d 378; 1981 U.S. LEXIS 96 |
| Holding | |
| After a defendant invokes his Fifth Amendment's right to counsel, police may not reinitiate custodial interrogation without counsel present or a knowing and intelligent relinquishment of that right. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | White, joined by Brennan, Stewart, Marshall, Blackmun, Stevens |
| Concurrence | Burger |
| Concurrence | Powell, joined by Rehnquist |
| Laws applied | |
| U.S. Const. amend. V | |
Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477 (1981), is a decision by the United States Supreme Court holding that once a defendant invokes his Fifth Amendment right to counsel, police must cease custodial interrogation. Re-interrogation is only permissible once defendant's counsel has been made available to him, or he himself initiates further communication, exchanges, or conversations with the police. Statements obtained in violation of this rule are a violation of a defendant's Fifth Amendment rights.
This "bright line" rule has been praised by legal scholars with some scholars stating it was a mistake to move from this standard to that of Davis v. United States which stipulates that the right to counsel can only be legally asserted by an "unambiguous or unequivocal request for counsel."