Opinion ID: 1706879
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: circumstances of confession

Text: It goes without saying that Ramirez' pre- Miranda statements are inadmissible. However, the initial confession secured in violation of Miranda and the circumstances under which it was given are of critical importance in determining the voluntariness and ultimately, the admissibility of the post- Miranda statements. Further, as the majority points out and as the dissent appears to agree, Ramirez was in custody at the time police interrogation commenced. In fact, as pointed out by the majority, the police had an extraordinary amount of evidence against Ramirez and hence, an abundance of probable cause to arrest him at the time they went to his home. Indeed, it is doubtful that there could be more probable cause than existed here. Incredibly, the police not only had the codefendant's statement directly implicating Ramirez, but also a police-designed and controlled verification of Ramirez' involvement from Ramirez' own mouth during a controlled telephone conversation the police set up with the codefendant. Under those circumstances the police were not free to avoid the strictures of Miranda by asserting tongue-in-cheek that they had no probable cause to believe Ramirez was involved in the murder.