Waiver

Introduction

Individuals are always free to waive their Fifth Amendment right to silence. It may, however, become difficult to determine whether such waiver took place. Generally, to determine whether an individual waived his right to silence, look at the totality of the circumstances to see if the individual knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his rights. Whether a waiver was "voluntary" means that the waiver must be the product of a free and deliberate choice rather than intimidation, coercion or deception. Whether it is "knowing" and "intentional" simply means that the individual must know the nature of his right and the consequences of abandoning it.

It may become an issue whether "knowing," "intentional" or "voluntary" may be used to describe situations in which the individual is unaware of some of certain relevant facts (this will be addressed in the Subjective Knowledge section). Furthermore . . .

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