Idaho appeals court: Don’t equivocate when seeking attorney

Don’t do any hemming and hawing if you’re trying to invoke your right to an attorney. That’s the message in an Idaho Court of Appeals ruling handed down in the case of a Missouri man convicted of robbing an eastern Idaho business.

The ruling was issued Tuesday in the case of Samuel J. Davis, a Vienna, Missouri man convicted of robbing a check-cashing business in Post Falls, Idaho.

According to the ruling, Davis had traveled to Spokane, Washington for a child custody hearing and was headed back home when he realized he didn’t have enough money to complete the trip. Prosecutors said that’s when he robbed the Post Falls business.

Police later arrested and interrogated Davis on the robbery. At one point during the interrogation, Davis said he thought he wanted an attorney.

That statement was equivocal, the appellate court found, and so police were legally allowed to continue the interrogation.