Dennis Rosa Collazo v. Wayne Estelle, Warden, California Mens Colony

To paraphrase the great Bard of Avon, “[t]he [majority] doth protest too much, methinks.” W. Shakespeare, Hamlet, III, ii. In a noble attempt to vindicate important legal principles, my colleagues have misinterpreted and exaggerated the essential and dispositive facts of this case. More importantly, they have unjustifiably expanded the prophylactic rules that govern the waiver of an accused’s constitutional rights to legal assistance and against self-incrimination. I therefore respectfully dissent.

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In Edwards v. Arizona, 451 U.S. 477, 101 S.Ct. 1880, 68 L.Ed.2d 378 (1981), the Supreme Court…