9th Circuit: Appeal To Religion Did Not Void Miranda Waiver

In United States v. Scaggs, (9th Cir., April 26, 2010), the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Miranda waiver by convicted murderer David Scaggs was not renedered involuntary by interrogators appeal to his religious beliefs. In questioning Scaggs without a lawyer present, the investigator asked him if he was a religious man. When Scaggs said he was, the investigator told him: "Well, if you're a religious guy, now is the time to tell the truth." The court held that this brief reference did not overbear Scaggs' will. Indeed Scaggs did not begin to confess until interrogators played a tape of an interview with an accomplice.