Speak Up! - View Question #304
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Question: What are the Miranda rights and who's Miranda?

Answer: Ernesto Miranda was a man who lived in Arizona and was convicted of raping a woman in the early 1960s. The conviction was based, in part, on Miranda's confession of the crime to the police. His attorneys appealed the conviction, arguing that Miranda was not told he had the right not to answer the police officers' questions.

The United States Supreme Court agreed and said that police officers must tell suspects in custody of their rights. Whenever a person suspected of a crime is in police custody or his freedom has been 'significantly deprived' by the police, the officer must tell the suspect he has the following rights:

1) You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can, and will, be used against you in a court of law;

2) You have the right to consult with an attorney and/or to have one present when questioned by the police; and

3)If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you.

These rights are now called Miranda rights because the requirement to read them to suspects is the result of the Supreme Court's decision in Miranda v. Arizona.

Ernesto Miranda was retried after his conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court. He was convicted based on other evidence and served several years in prison. After his release from prison, he made money by selling Miranda rights cards with his signature on them. He died in 1976 after being stabbed in a bar fight. The man suspected of killing him invoked his Miranda rights and refused to talk to police. He was released and never charged with Miranda's murder.
Comments
16 thru 20 of 66 comments
On 09/19/05
stevro from FM said:
I think that the miranda rights is a very important right for us, but was there any other law like this before the miranda rights occured.
On 06/24/05
jilt from CA said:
People are so lucky to be in this country and they take it for granted. The law is enforced and will be always. that's why people of all nations are coming here to live, because others countries law are weak and corruptive. when we talked about Miranda Ruling, Ernesto Miranda should be glad that he was in police custody that time, if this were in Mexico He will be dead by now, tortured and killed.
On 02/26/05
EW from NC said:
this helped A LOT for my civics project thanks!
On 05/03/04
John from MD said:
America was founded and later populated by people from many countries. Although English has always been the predominant language in this country, it has never been the exclusive language spoken here. The great strength of this country has been its diversity. Walk through any urban neighborhood and you will hear Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Hebrew and many other languages spoken. Most people speak English but for many it is a second or third language. Perhaps rather than require everyone to speak English, you should learn greater tolerance.
On 04/29/04
Bibiana from AZ said:
Your comment is very nasty. Try to learn a foreign language yoursef- and make no errors.... Even though racism was not mentioned in the article people have a right to express their opinion. Look up "retarded" in a dictionary and learn to use the word better.
16 thru 20 of 66 comments


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