Caso v. State

DANIEL S. PEARSON, Judge.

This case presents the question whether the confession of a defendant in custody1 must be suppressed where the Miranda warnings given to the defendant preceding his questioning omitted any mention of the defendant’s right to appointed counsel if he could not afford an attorney.

Although courts of this state once believed that such an omission was fatal to the admissibility of a confession, see, e.g., James v. State, 223 So.2d 52 (Fla. 4th DCA 1969); Abram v. State, 216 So.2d 498 (Fla. 1st DCA 1968); Woods v. State, 211 So.2d 248 (Fla. 3d DCA 1968), and courts elsewhere…