Joshua Chiazor Ezeka v. Minnesota
FifthAmendment DueProcess CriminalProcedure
Whether Petitioner's custodial statements should be suppressed due to lack of Miranda warning
QUESTIONS PRESENTED L The Fifth Amendment, in coordination with Miranda v. Arizona, requires police officers to notify suspects of their right to remain silent and their right to counsel at the outset of a custodial interrogation. Minnesota police officers subjected Petitioner to two separate custodial interrogations and failed, in both instances, to provide Petitioner with a Miranda warning at the outset of the interrogations. Should Petitioner’s custodial statements be suppressed? I. The Sixth Amendment protects a criminal defendant’s right to have counsel present at all important stages of proceedings, and this right attaches upon the initiation of adversarial judicial proceedings against the defendant. Minnesota formally charged Petitioner with second-degree intentional murder and subsequently subjected Petitioner to custodial interrogation without counsel present and without obtaining a waiver of Petitioner’s Sixth Amendment right to counsel. Should Petitioner’s custodial statements be suppressed? III. Minnesota uses United States v. Olano’s “clear or obvious” test to determine whether a trial court’s issuance of an erroneous jury instruction constitutes “plain error’ under state law. Minnesota acknowledged that, in Petitioner’s case, the trial court issued an erroneous instruction, but determined the error was not “plain” because it was not “clear and obvious.” Is Minnesota’s use of a “clear and obvious” test repugnant to the Constitution or laws of the United States?