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"Hey
they didn't read me my rights, what happens now?"
WHAT IS THE MIRANDA WARNING?
You've
probably heard it lots of times on TV crime shows: "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 be speak to an attorney,
and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot
afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government
expense." That is the Miranda Warning, named after a famous case
involving a suspect named (what else?) Miranda.
All of the
statements in the warning are true; however, it is not necessary for a
police officer to recite the magic words in order to arrest you. In most
situations, the police will give the warning only if you are going to be
asked questions; if they interrogate you outside the presence of your
lawyer without giving the warning, any answers you give probably cannot
be introduced in court as evidence against you. However, the police are
allowed to ask routine booking questions such as your name, address,
date of birth, and social security number in order to establish your
identity, without reading you the Miranda warning. You can also be given
a breathalizer test without the warning. Of course, you always have the
right to refuse to answer any questions.
IS AN ARREST ILLEGAL IF THE POLICE NEGLECT TO READ THE MIRANDA
RIGHTS TO THE SUSPECT?
No. These rights
are your protection against self-incrimination only, not against being
arrested. The only thing the police need before making an arrest is
"probable cause" -- a sufficient reason, based on facts and
observations, to believe you have committed a crime. Police must recite
the Miranda rights only when they are about to interrogate a suspect. If
they do not, then a judge might later throw out any statements made,
though the arrest may still be valid.
WHO WAS THIS GUY MIRANDA?
While
the Miranda warnings are considered a cornerstone of our civil
liberties, the person after whom they were named was hardly someone most
people would consider a hero. In 1963, Ernesto Miranda, an eighth-grade
dropout with a criminal record, had been picked up by Phoenix police and
accused of raping and kidnapping a mildly retarded 18-year-old woman.
After two hours in a police interrogation room Miranda signed a written
confession, but he apparently never was told that he had the right to
remain silent, to have a lawyer, and to be protected against
self-incrimination.
Despite his lawyer's objections, the confession was presented as
evidence at Miranda's trial, and he was convicted and sentenced to 20
years. His appeal went all the way to the Supreme Court, where it was
joined with three other similar cases. In a landmark ruling issued in
1966, the court established that the accused have the right to remain
silent and that prosecutors may not use statements made by defendants
while in police custody unless the police have advised them of their
rights.
That ruling offered only temporary reprieve to Miranda. He was
retried. The second time round the prosecutors couldn't use the
confession, but they did have additional evidence from a former
girlfriend of Miranda's who testified that he had told her about the
kidnapping and rape. He was convicted again and served 11 years before
being paroled in 1972. He was arrested and returned to prison several
times after.
Miranda died in 1976 at age 34 after being stabbed during an argument
in a bar. The police arrested a suspect who chose to remain silent after
being read his rights. The suspect was released and no one was ever
charged with the killing.
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