08-1470 Berghuis v. Thompkins

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Criminal Procedure
Right to remain silent

Silence during an interrogation does not invoke the right to remain silent.

A suspect's Miranda right to counsel must be invoked "unambiguously." Davis v. United States, 512 U. S. 452, 459. If the accused makes an "ambiguous or equivocal" statement or no statement, the police are not required to end the interrogation, ibid., or ask questions to clarify the accused's intent, id., at 461-462. There is no principled reason to adopt different standards for determining when an accused has invoked the Miranda right to remain silent and the Miranda right to counsel at issue in Davis. Both protect the privilege against compulsory self-incrimination by requiring an interrogation to cease when either right is invoked. The unambiguous invocation requirement results in an objective inquiry that "avoid[s] difficulties of proof and . . . provide[s] guidance to officers" on how to proceed in the face of ambiguity. Davis, supra, at 458-459. Had Thompkins said that he wanted to remain silent or that he did not want to talk, he would have invoked his right to end the questioning. He did neither.

547 F. 3d 572, reversed and remanded.

08-1470 Berghuis v. Thompkins

Kennedy, J.; Sotomayor, J., dissenting.

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