"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say may be held against you. You have the right to have an attorney present. Do you understand these rights?"

In 1966, when the Supreme Court reversed the conviction of Ernesto Miranda, charged with kidnapping and rape(Miranda v. Arizona), they did more than write the punch line to a million cop shows: they established a code of conduct for police officers to follow when arresting suspects. Miranda had confessed after being identified in a line-up, without first being informed of these rights.

The relatively liberal Court, whose Chief Justice inspired right-wing fanatics to cry, "Impeach Earl Warren," voted 5-4 to recognize Miranda's Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

Although subsequent Courts have limited the scope of the Warren Court's Miranda ruling, the basic protection of the suspect to be informed by these rights still stands.

Doug Nufer
The Free Press





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Contents this page were published in the January/February, 1998 edition of the Washington Free Press.
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