New Mexico v. King
Annotate this CaseDefendant-Appellee Donovan King was suspected of aggravated battery. In an interrogation room at the Farmington Police Department, a detective advised King of his rights and asked if he understood them. King replied, "Yeah." The detective then asked him if King wished to answer any questions. King answered, "Not at the moment. Kind of intoxicated." After telling King that intoxication was not a reason that King could not talk to him, the detective placed a waiver of rights form in front of King, tossed a pen in King's direction, and said, "Sign this for me if you wish to answer questions," indicating where King should sign. King responded, "Like I said[,] not at the moment." Undeterred, the detective repeated that intoxication was not a reason for not giving a statement, persisted in questioning King, and eventually elicited an incriminating statement from him. The district court granted King's motion to suppress the statement because King had twice unambiguously invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Because King was ultimately charged with an open count of first-degree murder, the State appealed the district court's ruling to the Supreme Court. Finding no error in the trial court's decision, the Supreme Court affirmed.
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