State of Arkansas, Appellant v. James Griffin, Jr., Appellee

Summary

The Supreme Court of Arkansas held that the statutory prohibition on a juvenile's waiver of counsel while in DHS custody applies only to juvenile-court proceedings, not to a juvenile ultimately prosecuted as an adult in circuit court. Because Griffin was charged as an adult, the circuit court erred in suppressing his statement, so the order was reversed and remanded. Justice Hart dissented, arguing that the statute's unqualified language required suppression, while Justice Womack concurred in the result but proposed a timing-based test for determining when a waiver becomes effective.