New York Court of Appeals

The People of the State of New York v. Keith Rivers

June 23, 198256 N.Y.2d 476

Summary

The Court affirmed the conviction, holding that the defendant's statement made after his arrest without counsel was admissible because it was spontaneous and not the product of police interrogation, and that the later oral admission suppressed by the trial court was harmless error. The Court relied on established New York precedent concerning the right to counsel and the admissibility of volunteered statements.