Oregon v. Swan

Defendant Andre Swan was arrested for driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII) and advised of his Miranda rights. In response, he invoked his right to counsel. Afterwards, the arresting officer asked defendant 28 DUII interview questions, then asked if he would consent to a breath test. Defendant moved to suppress his answers to the 28 questions and all derivative evidence, which he argued included his decision to take the breath test and the test results. The state conceded that asking defendant 28 DUII interview questions after he had invoked his right to counsel violated Article I, section 12, of the Oregon Constitution. However, the state took the position that suppressing the officer’s questions and defendant’s answers was sufficient to vindicate that right. The Court of Appeals agreed and also observed that asking defendant for consent to take a breath test did not constitute “interrogation” under Article I, section 12. The Oregon Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals: "If our only choice in fashioning a remedy for the violation of a defendant’s Article I, section 12, right is either to undercorrect for the violation of the defendant’s constitutional right or to overcorrect for that violation by denying the state a statutorily created benefit, [Oregon v.] Spencer [672 P2d 1182 (1083)] makes clear that the state’s loss of a statutory benefit is a necessary consequence of remedying the state’s violation of the defendant’s constitutional right. ... we conclude that the breath test results should have been suppressed as a product of the violation of defendant’s Article I, section 12, right to counsel." View "Oregon v. Swan" on Justia Law