Arizona v. Roberson

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Arizona v. Roberson (1988) clarifies how the right to counsel works after a person is in police custody. The Supreme Court ruled that once a suspect asks for a lawyer, the police may not initiate any further questioning about any crime—whether related to the original arrest or not—unless the suspect themselves starts the conversation.

What happened
- Jonathan Roberson was arrested in 1985 for burglary. After being read his rights, he asked to speak to a lawyer.
- Three days later, a different police officer, not aware of Roberson’s request, questioned him about a separate burglary. Roberson was again read his rights, waived them, and gave statements about the new crime.
- Roberson’s attorneys moved to suppress those statements as a violation of his right to counsel. The lower courts ruled against him, but the Arizona Supreme Court later said the statements should have been excluded.

The rule and ruling
- The Supreme Court, in a 6–2 decision, held that Edwards v. Arizona’s rule applies to all police-initiated custodial questioning after a suspect asks for a lawyer. In other words, once counsel is requested, questioning must stop until the attorney is present, even if officers want to question about a different crime.
- Simply repeating the Miranda warnings and having the suspect waive them again does not fix the problem. The police may not re-interrogate a suspect in custody about any offense unless the suspect initiates the conversation.

Opinions
- The majority was written by Justice John Paul Stevens and joined by Justices Brennan, Marshall, Blackmun, O’Connor, and Scalia.
- Justice Anthony Kennedy, joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist, dissented. He argued that the rule was too rigid and could hinder legitimate investigations, proposing a more flexible approach if proper warnings are given.

Impact
- Arizona v. Roberson strengthens Fifth Amendment protections by ensuring that once a suspect invokes the right to counsel, law enforcement cannot pressure them with new interrogations about any crime unless the suspect themselves starts talking.