The state Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether police officers in Michigan must end the conversation once a suspect asserts the right to remain silent.
Kadeem Dennis White was brought in for questioning after a man was gunned down in what appeared to be a robbery attempt. White said he wanted to remain silent and the detective stopped asking questions -- but he did not stop talking to White.
Eventually, White responded to the detective's statements, saying he didn't mean to do it and it was an accident. White was charged with first-degree murder.
The defense wants those statements thrown out, arguing the conversation was effectively a continuation of the interrogation, after White asserted his Fifth Amendment rights.
The prosecution argues the detective acted within the rules, and had no way of knowing that White might blurt out something incriminating.