Alvarez v. State’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

15 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 15 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “Invocation and waiver of constitutional rights are distinct inquiries, though, and should not be merged. See Smith v. Illinois, 469 U.S. 91, 98 , 105 S.Ct. 490 , 83 L.Ed.2d 488 (1984). The state must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that a suspect has voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently waived his Miranda rights before a statement may be used against him. See Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157, 168 , 107 S.Ct. 515 , 93 L.Ed.2d 473 (1986); Ramirez v. Stale, 739 So.2d 568, 575 (Fla.1999). Thus, an ambiguous waiver must be clarified before initial questioning. See [U.S. v.] Rodriguez, 518 F.3d [1072] at 1080 [ (9th Cir.2008) ]. However, once a suspect has waived his rights, an attempt to revoke the waiver must be unambiguous. See Owen, 696 So.2d at 717-718 ; Collins v. State, 4 So.3d 1249, 1250 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009). Unlike the pre-waiver context, an ambiguity need not be clarified before proceeding with questioning. See Davis, 512 U.S. at 459 , 114 S.Ct. 2350 ; Given, 696 So.2d at 717 ; Collins, 4 So.3d at 1250 . This rule regulates the tension recognized in Miranda between, on the one hand, the preservation of the right against self-incrimination and, on the other, the need for clear rules for law enforcement in the field. See Davis, 512 U.S. at 461 , 114 S.Ct. 2350 .”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Bailey v. State

2. “[I]f a suspect has not answered any questions and fails to clearly waive his right to remain silent, or has waived his right but then answered only “mundane” questions before any substantive questioning, announcing he does not want to answer anymore, it is reasonable to conclude that he has decided not to speak. However, where a suspect has heard, understood, and waived his Miranda rights, and has been answering substantive questions without incident and continues to do so, a statement which may have been unambiguous if uttered initially may be objectively ambiguous when considered in context.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage
   e.g. Bailey v. State