Supreme Court to Decide Teen’s Right to Miranda Warning During School Questioning
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a 13-year-old special education student questioned by a police officer at middle school had the right to a Miranda warning.
The case is the second this term involving the rights of youths facing police questioning, SCOTUSblog reports. The case accepted today is J.D. B. v. North Carolina.
J.D.B. confessed to burglarizing homes after a police investigator told him that a stolen digital camera he brought to school had been found. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog) that the teen was not in custody when he was questioned, so a Miranda warning was not required. The court also said age and academic standing should not be considered when deciding the custody question.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether police and social workers must get a warrant before interviewing children at school about suspected sexual abuse by family members.
