Miranda Vs Arizona; Rights and Responsibility

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you.” (What are your Miranda rights?). Two rights you should know, and 4 sentences you never want read to you.

Since it was impossible to tell if he knew his rights, Ernesto Miranda solidified the 5th amendment when his court conviction was over-turned in 1966 (McBride)”, which has effected every aspect of arrest ever since, by establishing rights of the accused and responsibilities of law enforcement officers (McBride). Miranda was arrested early march 3rd 1963. (McBride)” He was found guilty of rape and kidnapping (McBride). The women he had allegedly raped, said she was a virgin, which was disproved in trial (1966). The main piece of evidence was Miranda’s verbal and written confessions (McBride). The confessions were obtained during a 3-hour interrogation in which Miranda had no communication with an attorney (McBride). During this interrogation he was also falsely told he had been positively identified (1966). His conviction was over-turned in 1966 (McBride). The conviction was overturned when the Supreme Court ruled that his confession was obtained unconstitutionally (McBride). Something needed to change.

That something was the creation of the Miranda Rights. The first problem was that Miranda may not have known he had the right not to incriminate himself. Weather he knew this or not, he had that right. Due to the fact that no one could prove Miranda, who dropped out of school in 9th grade and had history of mental illness(…..), knew or didn’t know he had the right to remain silent, the judge ruled that “No doubt” (Fact...

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...ure unjust forms of interrogation are not in use. If an attorney is not present, and the accused, in anyway, wishes the interrogation to be over, “the police may not question him/her.” (Grolier) That is the suspects right. Again this is a great thing to ensure rights are actually being respected.

Miranda changed the entire arrest procedure for better when his conviction was overturned. Now not only did people actually have the rights that were written in our Constitution. But also, now the police officers had the responsibility to actually read you those rights and make sure you understood you had those rights. If they do not read you your Miranda rights at the time of arrest, you may actually fight it in the court of law.

Work Cited

McBride, Alex, “Miranda V. Arizona (1966).”

“Facts and Case Summary” U.S.Courts.gov

(What are your Miranda Rights? , web, 2009).