NEW YORK v. QUARLES

NEW YORK v. QUARLES (1984) No. 82-1213
This decision was held by US Supreme Court in regards with the public safety exception
to ordinary 5th amendment needs of Miranda warning. As per the judgement it was found that
jurisprudential law of Miranda must be applied in condition in which public safety concerns are
paramount to adherence to literal description of prophylactic regulations enunciated in Miranda.
Miranda warning is customarily notification which is given to crime suspects in custody to
advise them about their right to silence so that admissibility of statements can be preserved.
However in New York v. Quarles it was also stated that Miranda rule can be made elastic for
public safety and is absolute in nature (Powell Jr, 1983). As an exception at trial for being
admissible questioning must not be compelled by investigating officer’s conduct which
overcame suspect’s resistance. Also questioning must be limited and focused which involves a
situation in which questions can be asked in the wake of public safety concern. However in the
case the interrogatory statement used by police officers were considered as inadmissible in
evidence because it was found that officers did not gave Miranda warning to suspect (Daly,
1983). Thus it can be concluded from the case that for police officers it was immediate need and
interest to ensure that no injury is caused by gun and thus Miranda warning can be taken as an
exception. Thus failure to issue Miranda warning in case did not show any violation of the
constitutional rights.