Opinion ID: 4300837
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: A confession may not be used in a criminal prosecution if it was obtained through police coercion rather than voluntarily made. The appellant, who was convicted of first degree murder, argues that his confession was not voluntary, because he was still under the influence of the methamphetamine he - 899 - Nebraska Supreme Court A dvance Sheets 299 Nebraska R eports STATE v. HERNANDEZ Cite as 299 Neb. 896 smoked the day before. Because we find no police coercion, we conclude it was voluntary. The appellant also claims that prior to his confession, he did not voluntarily waive his right to remain silent, but instead invoked that right during his interview with law enforcement. After a review of the evidence, we conclude that the appellant understood his rights, yet still agreed to speak with law enforcement. We also find that the appellant’s statement that he would “probably stop talking” was not an unequivocal invocation of the right to remain silent. We also conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion by not redacting some of the statements in the interview. Finally, we conclude that the prosecuting attorney made several inappropriate comments during his closing arguments. However, the district court did not abuse its discretion by not declaring a mistrial, in part because of the strength of the evidence supporting the convictions.