Fikes v. Alabama (1956)
- Docket
- 53
- Decided
- 1956-01-01
Summary
Question: Did the questioning leading up to Fikes’ confessions and their subsequent use in trial violate his right to Due Process? Conclusion: Yes. Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered the opinion of the 6-3 majority. The Court held that the circumstances surrounding Fikes’ confession were coercive and unduly influenced him. Because the confessions were gained through coercion, their use in trial constituted a denial of due process. In his concurring opinion, Justice Felix Frankfurter wrote that mental and emotional coercion achieve the same result as physical coercion and should be considered equally detrimental to the interests of justice. Justice William J. Brennan, Jr. joined in the concurrence. Justice John M. Harlan wrote a dissenting opinion in which he argued that the questioning that led to the confessions was not definitively coercive. He also argued that, without evidence that shows the questioning was unconstitutional, the majority opinion overstepped the Court’s bounds by reversing the decision. Justice Stanley Reed and Justice Harold Burton joined in the dissent.