Court Opinion

ID: 9427637
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-02 23:21:28.586571+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:23:08.701270
License: Public Domain

Me. Justice Powell,
dissenting.
Although I agree with the Court that the Supreme Court of California misconstrued Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U. S. 436 (1966),1 I would not reverse the California court’s judgment. This Court repeatedly has recognized that “the greatest care” must be taken to assure that an alleged confession of a juvenile was voluntary. See, e. g., In re Gault, 387 U. S. 1, 55 *733(1967); Gallegos v. Colorado, 370 U. S. 49, 64 (1962); Haley v. Ohio, 332 U. S. 596, 599-600 (1948) (plurality opinion). Respondent was a young person, 16 years old at the time of his arrest and the subsequent prolonged interrogation at the station house. Although respondent had had prior brushes with the law, and was under supervision by a probation officer, the taped transcript of his interrogation — as well as his testimony at the suppression hearing — demonstrates that he was immature, emotional,2 and uneducated, and therefore was likely to be vulnerable to the skillful, two-on-one, repetitive style of interrogation to which he was subjected. App. 54-82.
When given Miranda warnings and asked whether he desired an attorney, respondent requested permission to “have my probation officer here,” a request that was refused. Id., at 55. That officer testified later that he had communicated frequently with respondent, that respondent had serious and “extensive” family problems, and that the officer had instructed respondent to call him immediately “at any time he has a police contact, even if they stop him and talk to him on the street.”- Id., at 26-31.3 The reasons given by the probation officer for having so instructed his charge were substantially the same reasons that prompt this Court to examine with special care the circumstances under which a minor’s alleged confession was obtained. After stating that respondent had been “going through problems,” the officer observed that “many times the kids don’t understand what is going on, and what they are supposed to do relative to police ....” Id., at 29. This view of the limited understanding of the average 16-year-old was borne out by respondent’s question when, *734during interrogation, he was advised of his right to an attorney: “How I know you guys won’t pull no police officer in and tell me he’s an attorney?” Id., at 55. It was during this part of the interrogation that the police had denied respondent’s request to “have my probation officer here.” Ibid.
The police then proceeded, despite respondent’s repeated denial of any connection to the murder under investigation, see id., at 56-60, persistently to press interrogation until they extracted a confession. In In re Gault, in addressing police interrogation of detained juveniles, the Court stated:
“If counsel was not present for some permissible reason when, an admission was obtained [from a child], the greatest care must be taken to assure that the admission was voluntary, in the sense not only that it was not coerced or suggested, but also that it was not the product of ignorance of rights or of adolescent'fantasy, fright or despair.” 387 U. S., at 55.
It is clear that the interrogating police did not exercise “the greatest care” to assure that respondent’s “admission was voluntary.” 4 In the absence of counsel, and having refused to call the probation officer, they nevertheless engaged in protracted interrogation.
Although I view the case as close, I am not satisfied that this particular 16-year-old boy, in this particular situation, was subjected to a fair interrogation free from inherently coercive circumstances. For these reasons, I would affirm the judgment of the Supreme Court of California.

 The California Supreme Court, purporting to apply Miranda v. Arizona, stated:
“Here ... we face conduct which, regardless of considerations of capacity, coercion or voluntariness, per se invokes the privilege against self-incrimination.” 21 Cal. 3d 471, 477, 579 P. 2d 7, 10 (1978). I agree with the Court’s opinion today that Miranda cannot be read as support for any such per se rule.

 The Juvenile Court Judge observed that he had “heard the tapes” of the interrogation, and was “aware of the fact that Michael [respondent] was crying at the time he talked to the police officers.” App. 53.

 The Supreme Court of California stated that a “probation officer is an official appointed pursuant to legislative enactment ‘to represent the interests’ of the juvenile [and] . . . has borne the duty to advise and care for the juvenile defendant.” 21 Cal. 3d, at 477, 579 P. 2d, at 10.

 Minors who become embroiled with the law range from the very young up to those on the brink of majority. Some of the older minors become fully “street-wise,” hardened criminals, deserving no greater consideration than that properly accorded all persons suspected of crime. Other minors are more of a child than an adult. As the Court indicated in In re Gault, 387 U. S. 1 (1967), the facts relevant to the care to be exercised in a particular case vary widely. They include the minor’s age, actual maturity, family environment, education, emotional and mental stability, and, of course, any prior record he might have.