Article 31(b): Who Should be Required to Give Warnings?

This thesis examines the historical origins and development of the right against self-incrimination, the common-law rule of confessions, and the due process voluntariness doctrine in the civilian community and in the military, to form a basis for evaluating the four tests devised by the Court of Military Appeals to answer the question of who should give Article 31b warnings. This thesis concludes that only those persons acting in an official military law enforcement capacity, regardless of the suspects perception, should give Article 31b warnings. This Officiality test is the most faithful to the multiple policy objectives embodied in Article 31b and should be adopted.