Billy is in an interrogation room at a police station. He was brought there after being arrested on suspicion of DUI. He was not read his Miranda rights on the side of the road when he was taken into custody and was not read his Miranda rights upon arriving at the station either. The detective who enters the interrogation room is unaware of this information and begins questioning Billy about his whereabouts that evening. Billy mentions that he was at a bar called "The Floating Walrus." This piques the detectives interest, because a woman last seen at that bar has been reported missing. When the detective mentions her name, Billy breaks down crying and asks for forgiveness. Billy then says her body is in a wooded area about 250 feet behind the bar. The detective leaves the station, heads to that area, and finds the woman's body; she is dead from a gunshot wound. A gun registered to Billy is lying next to her.
-Based on the Supreme Court's decision in _____________, if other officers had already made plans to send a search party into the woods first thing in the morning, then police might be able to invoke the inevitable discovery doctrine in order to use the evidence found on and around the body at trial.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court case that established the inevitable discovery doctrine is Nix v. Williams. This doctrine allows for evidence to be used at trial if it would have inevitably been discovered by lawful means, even if it was initially obtained through unlawful means (such as Billy's confession without being read his Miranda rights). In this case, if other officers had already made plans to search the wooded area where the woman's body was found, the police may be able to argue that they would have inevitably discovered Billy's gun and the evidence around the body, even if Billy had not confessed to its location.

Billy Is in an Interrogation Room at a Police Station