Final answer:
The correct answer is c. Miranda v. Arizona (1966), where the Supreme Court ruled that a confession can be excluded as evidence if the suspect was not informed of their rights, known as Miranda rights, before interrogation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The U.S. Supreme Court decision that could cause confessions to be thrown out as evidence is c. Miranda v. Arizona (1966). The landmark Miranda v. Arizona case established that due to the coercive nature of police interrogation, suspects must be informed of their rights before making a confession. This includes the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, and the warning that anything said can be used against them in court. If these rights are not communicated, any confession obtained may be considered inadmissible as it violates the Fifth and Sixth Amendments.
In the case of Ernesto Miranda, his conviction was overturned because the police had not informed him of his rights, and thus his confession was obtained in violation of his constitutional protections. This decision set a precedent requiring law enforcement to issue what are now known as Miranda warnings prior to any custodial interrogation, fundamentally changing police procedures and protecting the rights of the accused.