Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Police in Interrogation Case

By: Gina Holland

A fractured Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a police officer did not violate the rights of a gravely wounded farm worker by interrogating him at the hospital without reading him his Miranda rights.

But Oliverio Martinez may still be allowed to collect damages on grounds that his constitutional due process rights were violated by the 1997 hospital room questioning, the court said in sending the case back to California for more consideration.

The ruling means that police officers cannot be sued for failing to read someone their rights, known as Miranda rights, if the person is never prosecuted, the attorney for the sergeant in the case said.

"Police officers are less likely to be second-guessed when they're discharging a very hard job under complicated and high pressure circumstances," Washington lawyer Lawrence Robbins said.

Martinez was shot five times by police and then subjected to a lengthy interrogation as he awaited medical treatment. He was never told of his rights, and he says a police sergeant kept questioning him even after he said he did not want to answer.

Martinez, who was never charged with a crime, was left blind and paralyzed.

Justice John Paul Stevens compared the interrogation to "an attempt to obtain an involuntary confession from a prisoner by torturous methods."

The man filed a civil rights lawsuit against the City of Oxnard and the police sergeant.

Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority in part of the ruling, said that Sgt. Ben Chavez did not violate Martinez's Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He was joined by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices Sandra Day O'Connor and Antonin Scalia. Justice David Souter agreed in a separate opinion, joined by Stephen Breyer.

An appeals court had ruled that police coerced a confession from Martinez, in violation of his rights, and that his statement could not be used as evidence in his excessive-force civil trial. Justices disagreed.

Lawyers for the man, who was blinded and paralyzed after being shot in the eye and spine during a scuffle with an officer, claim he was in excruciating pain and begged the officer to leave him alone.

An interview transcript shows that Martinez told the lawman: "I am choking. I am dying, please." The officer replied: "If you are going to die, tell me what happened."

The Supreme Court is expected to take a broad look at Miranda warnings, which begin with, "You have the right to remain silent," in the term that begins this fall. Justices have chosen three cases to review.

The case is Chavez v. Martinez, 01-1444.