Drug Use Confession Not Self-Incrimination at Revocation Hearing

A man’s statement to his probation officer that he was using methamphetamines was properly used to revoke his supervised release, the Fourth Circuit said April 3.

The Fifth Amendment right against self incrimination only applies in criminal trials, and Joshua Riley’s revocation hearing wasn’t a criminal trial, the opinion by Judge William B. Traxler Jr. said.

U.S. Supreme Court precedent allows statements made to probation officers without a Miranda warning to be admitted against a defendant in criminal trials. But the outcome may be different if the offender is in custody when the statement is made, the high court said. ...