NCJ Number
97560
Date Published
1983
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This police training video cassette, accompanied by an audio cassette, reenacts the incident which led to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in California vs. Beheler.
Abstract
The decision specifies that Miranda warnings are not required during police station interviews and that the length of time between the commission of a crime and the police interview is irrelevant. The respondent, Jerry Beheler, and several acquaintances attempted to steal hashish from a woman (Peggy Dean) selling the drug. Dean was shot and killed, and Beheler called the police, advising them about who had shot Dean and where the gun had been hidden. After the gun was found, Beheler voluntarily accompanied police to the station, where he agreed to discuss the murder; he was not advised of his Miranda rights. Although Beheler was released after a short interview, he was arrested 5 days later for the Dean murder. After he was fully advised of his Miranda rights, he gave a second, taped confession, during which he admitted that his earlier interview with the police had been given voluntarily. The trial court found that it was not necessary for police to advise Beheler of his Miranda rights prior to his first interview; Beheler's statements at both interviews were admitted into evidence. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the decision, determining that a Miranda warning is not required unless there is restraint on the freedom of movement of 2 degree associated with a formal arrest. A booklet accompanying the cassettes examines the Supreme Court's decision.