WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled Monday that confessions obtained by federal authorities before a suspect’s first court appearance may be inadmissible if more than six hours elapse between an arrest and a court date.
The court’s 5-4 decision said long delays can give the government too much leverage.
“Federal agents would be free to question suspects for extended periods before bringing them out in the open, and we have always known what custodial secrecy leads to,” Justice David Souter wrote in the majority opinion.
Johnnie Corley was arrested on suspicion of robbing a credit union in Norristown, Pa. FBI agents did not take him to court for 29 1/2 hours, during which time they elicited a confession.
Under federal law and court decisions, confessions obtained within six hours of an arrest are presumed to be valid. The question in Corley’s case was what courts should do with confessions when there is a delay before the first court appearance.
The federal appeals court in Philadelphia said Corley’s admission could be used against him, ruling that the confession was voluntary.
The Supreme Court set aside that ruling Monday and ordered lower courts to examine whether the confession was given during the first six hours after arrest. If it came later, Souter said, courts must throw out the confession if they find the delay “unreasonable or unnecessary.”
In dissent, Justice Samuel Alito said confessions that are voluntarily given should be admitted into evidence regardless of the time that passes before a prisoner first goes to court.
