State v. Ervin

The defendant, under police interrogation, confessed to a brutal beating and robbery of a woman. He now appeals from a judgment of conviction, contending that his confession should not have been received in evidence.

Following what was described in oral argument as the customary ① police routine in such cases, the defendant, a prime suspect in the robbery, was arrested between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m. for jaywalking, and lodged in jail until 2:30 a.m., when he was awakened and taken to an interrogation room for questioning.

The officers who obtained the confession swore that before the interrogation…