Defense urges Washington Supreme Court to recognize broader state protection when suspects ambiguously ask to stop questioning At oral argument in State v. Van Zandvo, defense counsel asked the Washington Supreme Court to hold that Article 1, Section 9 of the state constitution is more protective than the federal Fifth Amendment when a suspect ambiguously seeks to cut off custodial questioning; the State argued the claim was unpreserved and that state law is coextensive with federal law. The court heard competing legal theories and factual claims about the underlying interrogation; no ruling is recorded in the transcript.

The Washington Supreme Court is being urged to provide stronger protections for suspects who ambiguously wish to end police questioning, challenging the limits of federal law.

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