Experimental. Doctrines is a new Annlex feature, starting with four areas: Self-incrimination, Brady, Terry and Miranda. Each page collects what courts have said about a leading case, quoted from the opinions that cite it. Annlex Chat uses these collections to help find relevant cases; what a case holds still comes from its opinion. We'd like to hear what's useful, missing or wrong: Send feedback
Unambiguous Invocation of the Miranda Right to Remain Silent
Leading case
Berghuis v. Thompkins, 560 U.S. 370 (2010)
How courts have described it
explaining that if the accused makes a “simple” statement that he wants to remain silent, he invokes “his right to cut off questioning” (internal quotation marks omitted)
KURT MICHAELS V. RON DAVIS (9th Cir. 2022)
holding that a suspect “who wants to invoke his or her right to remain silent [must] do so unambiguously”
United States v. Santistevan, 701 F.3d 1289 (10th Cir. 2012)
“Had [the defendant] made either of those simple, unambiguous statements, he would have invoked his [rights]. Here he did neither, so he did not invoke his right[s].” (internal quotation marks omitted)
United States v. Plugh, 648 F.3d 118 (2d Cir. 2011)
concluding defendant’s silence during two-hour-and-45-minute interrogation did not invoke right to remain silent or right to counsel because defendant must make “an unambiguous” request to invoke his Miranda rights
Hall v. Thomas, 611 F.3d 1259 (11th Cir. 2010)
holding that a suspect did not unambiguously invoke his right to remain silent by merely remaining silent for two hours and forty-five minutes
State of Arizona v. Giovani Fuster Melendez, 565 P.3d 1034 (Ariz. 2025)
holding that the defendant’s prolonged silence in the face of police questioning did not amount to an unambiguous invocation of the right to remain silent
State of Tennessee v. Jessie Dotson, 450 S.W.3d 1 (Tenn. 2014)
holding that "an accused who wants to invoke his or her right to remain silent [must] do so unambiguously”
Dorsey v. United States, 60 A.3d 1171 (D.C. 2013)
Related doctrines
- Cessation of interrogation upon invocation of Miranda rights
- Unambiguous invocation of counsel required to halt custodial questioning
About this page
The quotations above are from court opinions that cite the leading case, in each court's own words. The heading is a short label Annlex generated from those quotations. It has not been reviewed by a lawyer and is not legal advice.