United States v. Johnson’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

37 federal appellate · 4 district · 16 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 76 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. “[w]here a subsequent confession is obtained constitutionally, the admission of prior inadmissible confessions [is] harmless error.”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. DeSumma · Reinert v. Larkins

2. “Here, appellant did not request the examination and thus cannot be said to have ‘evinced a willingness and a desire for a generalized discussion about the investigation.’ Oregon v. Bradshaw, 462 U.S. 1039, 1046-47 , 103 S.Ct. 2830, 2835 , 77 L.Ed.2d 405 (1983). Appellant was also uncounseled and thus cannot be presumed to have received competent legal advice which clarified any ambiguities concerning the examination. Finally, appellant signed waiver forms which strongly suggested that the waiver of rights was applicable only to the polygraph examination. See App. at A— 226-27. Significantly, Miranda , warnings may be selectively invoked or waived. See Stumes v. Solem, 752 F.2d 317 (8th Cir.1985) (suspect invoked right to counsel during polygraph examination by refusing to take exam without attorney but did not by this refusal invoke right to counsel as to the non-polygraph questioning); United States v. Thierman, 678 F.2d 1331 (9th Cir.1982) (suspect may selectively waive rights by responding to certain questions but not others). We are hesitant to accept the government’s assertion that a young man who had no previous exposure to the criminal justice system and who had acceded to a request for submission to a specific examination without the benefit of counsel unambiguously waived all his Miranda rights by signing waiver forms boldly captioned ‘Polygraph Examination.’”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 2012 Pa. Super. 56 - Commonwealth v. Hill

3. “[i]n Elstad specifically rejected the proposition that the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine, which in the fourth amendment context requires the exclusion of evidence or confessions obtained as a result of a constitutional violation, extends to violations of the Miranda decision. Rather, the Court concluded that Miranda requires only that the circumstances surrounding a subsequent confession be evaluated to determine whether the confession was knowing and voluntary. The Court held -further that a suspect’s subsequent choice to waive his or her rights after a proper administration of Miranda warnings should ordinarily suffice to dissipate the coercive impact of the earlier confession and to demonstrate knowledge and voluntariness.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. United States v. Tyler