Friday, January 18, 2008
Miranda Rights....
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present during questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you."
In 1963, Ernesto Miranda was arrested for kidnapping and rape of a Jane Doe at a bus stop. He made a confession without having been told of his constitutional right to remain silent, and his right to have an attorney present during police questioning. At trial, prosecutors offered only his confession as evidence and he was convicted. The Supreme Court ruled (Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)) that Miranda was intimidated by the interrogation and that he did not understand his right not to incriminate himself or his right to counsel. On this basis, they overturned his conviction. Miranda was later convicted in a new trial, with witnesses testifying against him and other evidence presented. He was then sentenced to eleven years. He served one-third of his sentence and was turned down for parole four times before being paroled in December 1972. When Miranda was later killed in a knife fight, his killer received the Miranda warnings; he invoked his rights and declined to give a statement. In 2000, the Supreme Court confronted the issue of whether Miranda had been superseded by the enactment of the Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. A 5-4 majority ruled that the answer was no, because Miranda had articulated a constitutional rule which only the Court itself (or a constitutional amendment) could reverse. Dickerson v. United States, 530 U.S. 428 (2000).
In 1963, Ernesto Miranda was arrested for kidnapping and rape of a Jane Doe at a bus stop. He made a confession without having been told of his constitutional right to remain silent, and his right to have an attorney present during police questioning. At trial, prosecutors offered only his confession as evidence and he was convicted. The Supreme Court ruled (Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966)) that Miranda was intimidated by the interrogation and that he did not understand his right not to incriminate himself or his right to counsel. On this basis, they overturned his conviction. Miranda was later convicted in a new trial, with witnesses testifying against him and other evidence presented. He was then sentenced to eleven years. He served one-third of his sentence and was turned down for parole four times before being paroled in December 1972. When Miranda was later killed in a knife fight, his killer received the Miranda warnings; he invoked his rights and declined to give a statement. In 2000, the Supreme Court confronted the issue of whether Miranda had been superseded by the enactment of the Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968. A 5-4 majority ruled that the answer was no, because Miranda had articulated a constitutional rule which only the Court itself (or a constitutional amendment) could reverse. Dickerson v. United States, 530 U.S. 428 (2000).
# posted by Lamb Mouton @ 8:09 AM 
