Opinion ID: 2219142
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Harris Analysis:

Text: [18] ś 111. Furthermore, we hold that the circuit court correctly applied Harris, 401 U.S. 222, in ruling that the voluntary statement, obtained without proper Miranda warnings, was inadmissible in the State's case-in-chief. However, the circuit court correctly ruled that the voluntary statement was available to the State for the limited purposes of impeachment and rebuttal. ś 112. Every criminal defendant has the right to testify in his own defense, or alternatively, refuse to take the stand at trial. However, the right to testify in one's criminal proceedings has never been construed to allow a defendant to commit perjury. See United States v. Knox, 396 U.S. 77 (1969). ś 113. Indeed, as the court in Elstad noted: [T]he Miranda presumption, though irrebutable for purposes of the prosecution's case in chief, does not require that the statements and their fruits be discarded as inherently tainted. Despite the fact that patently voluntary statements taken in violation of Miranda must be excluded from the prosecution's case, the presumption of coercion does not bar their use for impeachment purposes on cross-examination. Elstad, 470 U.S. at 307. ś 114. We hold that the circuit court correctly applied Harris, 401 U.S. 222, in ruling that the voluntary statements, obtained without proper Miranda warnings, were inadmissible in the State's case-in-chief, but nonetheless, were available to the State for the limited purposes of impeachment and rebuttal.