Opinion ID: 491574
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The first, untaped confession

Text: 9 Elledge's counsel sought to suppress the first confession, arguing that it was involuntary because it was physically coerced. Counsel maintained that Elledge had no sleep the night of his arrest and interrogation, had no food and drink during his interrogation, confessed while hung over and under the residual impact of drugs and alcohol, and was in a general daze at the time of his confession. 3 Counsel did not argue, however, that Elledge's fifth amendment rights were violated when the police repeatedly reinterrogated and rewarned him of his Miranda rights despite Elledge's alleged invocation of his right to silence. This omission was unreasonable representation according to Elledge. We disagree. 10 The test for the performance prong of Strickland is objective reasonableness under prevailing professional norms. Id. at 688, 104 S.Ct. at 2065, 80 L.Ed.2d at 694. A reviewing court conducting such an examination must view the performance at the time it occurred, avoid the distorting effects of hindsight, id., and indulge a strong presumption that counsel's conduct falls within the wide range of reasonable professional assistance.... Id. at 689, 104 S.Ct. at 2066, 80 L.Ed.2d at 694. 11 Until Michigan v. Mosley, 423 U.S. 96, 102-04, 96 S.Ct. 321, 326, 46 L.Ed.2d 313, 320-22 (Dec. 9, 1975), repeated reinterrogation in conjunction with repeated Miranda warnings was not recognized as a potentially coercive technique. Elledge's counsel sought to suppress the first confession in March, 1975; obviously, he did not have the benefit of Mosley at that time. Furthermore, as of March, 1975, no Florida courts had held that such procedures were coercive. Reasonably effective representation cannot and does not include a requirement to make arguments based on predictions of how the law may develop. See Sullivan v. Wainwright, 695 F.2d 1306, 1309 (11th Cir.), aff'd, 464 U.S. 109, 104 S.Ct. 450, 78 L.Ed.2d 266 (1983) (per curiam). Thus, Elledge's claim fails on the first, performance prong of Strickland.