Question

Do you agree or disagree with the Supreme Court’s majority ruling in Yarborough v.Alvarado?
Write a short paragraph describing your answer and connect the case to the Miranda v. Arizona decision.

Answer 1

I disagree with the Supreme Court’s majority in Yarborough v. Alvarado. Miranda v. Arizona requires that suspects be given warnings before custodial interrogation because custody creates inherently compelling pressures that can undermine the voluntariness of statements; the question whether a person is “in custody” should account for characteristics that affect how coercive the situation feels. By insisting on a purely objective “reasonable person” test and largely excluding the defendant’s youth, the Yarborough majority weakened Miranda’s protective purpose for vulnerable juveniles. (The Court later recognized this concern in J.D.B. v. North Carolina, holding that a child’s age is indeed relevant to the custody analysis.)