Form 27: Motion to Suppress Statements

• Library: Criminal Law Forms (ABA) (2013 Ed.)

Form 27: Motion to Suppress Statements

KENNETH VERCAMMEN & ASSOCIATES, PC ATTORNEY AT LAW 2053 Woodbridge Ave. Edison, NJ 08817 (Phone) 732-572-0500 (Fax) 732-572-0030

website: www.njlaws.com

D

RE: State v
Letter Brief in support of Motion to Suppress Statements

Dear Judge

Please accept this letter brief in support of the above Defendant's motion to exclude any statements taken while under custodial interrogation.

Right to Remain Silent upon arrest or police questioning- Miranda Rights

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the use of involuntary statements and confessions at trial. The State bears the burden of proof in a motion to suppress a statement allegedly obtained in violation of the Miranda doctrine. New Jersey requires the higher standard of beyond a reasonable doubt when the court determines if Miranda has not been fully complied with. State v Yough 49 NJ 587, 600-601 (1967), State v Whittington 142 NJ Super. 45, 49-50 (App. Div. 1976), State v Flower 224 NJ Super. 208, 213 (Law Div. 1987) aff'd per curiam 224 NJ Super. 90 (App. Div. 1988).

WHAT IS INTERROGATION?

As set forth in NJ Practice , Vol. 32 Criminal Practice and Procedure (West 1998) Section 755, the United States Supreme Court in Rhode Island V Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 100 S.Ct. 1682, 64 L.Ed.2d 297 (1980) held that the term "interrogation" under Miranda refers not only to express questioning but also to any words or actions on the part of the police that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the suspect.

It is "an established principle of our federalist system" that states may afford...