Can a Delay In Arraignment by Police Be Done to Deprive Defendant of Counsel In Order to Elicit a Confession ?

In People v. Mosley (135 AD2d 662 [2d Dept 1987]), a 40-hour delay in arraignment required suppression of defendant's confession to robbery and murder where he had confessed to the charge upon which he had been arrested, tampering with a witness, within an hour of his arrest, but was held and subjected to continuous questioning regarding several other crimes for approximately 24 hours, during which the subject confession was obtained. The Court reasoned that because police had sufficient evidence to prosecute defendant on the charges for which he had been arrested, including an unrelated attempted robbery, he should have been arraigned on the morning following his arrest. The delay in doing so was therefore unnecessary and was found to have been caused by the police for the purpose of depriving defendant of his critical-stage right to counsel in order to elicit a confession. (See also, People v. Vides, NYLJ, Oct. 18, 1994, at 26, col 4; People v. St. Louis, NYLJ, Oct. 25, 1993, at 25, col 5.)