Florida v. Powell

Summary

The Court held that it had jurisdiction to review the Florida Supreme Court's decision because that decision did not clearly rest on an adequate and independent state-law ground. On the merits, the Court held that the Tampa warning, read in its entirety, reasonably conveyed the suspect's right to have counsel present throughout custodial interrogation, even though it did not expressly use those words, and therefore satisfied Miranda. Justice Stevens, dissenting, would have dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction and, alternatively, would have held the warning constitutionally inadequate.