Miranda Warning
Usually given to suspect just prior to being questioned:
1. Before we ask you any questions, you must understand your legal rights.
2. You have the right to remain silent.
3. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law.
4. You have the right to talk with a lawyer
for advice, before we ask you any
questions and to have him with you during questioning.
5. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be
appointed for you before
questioning, if you wish.
6. If you decide to answer questions now
without a lawyer present, you will
still have the right to stop questioning at any time until
you talk to a lawyer.
7. Do you understand what I have read to you?
8. Having those rights in mind, do you wish to talk to me now?
The above is one example, and it is very simply stated.
The constitutional
test of Amendment
V is met:
"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise
infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual
service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the
same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be
compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall
private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
The constitutional test of Amendment VI is met:
"In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence."
The Miranda Warning was, on 6/26/2000, upheld
by the U.S. Supreme Court, 7-2,
citing the landmark Arizona v. Miranda. The two dissenting justices were
Antonin
Scalia, and Clarence Thomas.
Case Summary:
Case #: 99-5525 |
At issue before the court in the more recent case, Dickerson
v. United States, was whether a federal law,
passed in reaction to the Miranda decision, legislatively overruled the
court's ruling in that case, effectively
doing away with readings by police of Miranda rights.
The law, 18 U.S.C. § 3501, says that the admissibility in court of a
suspect's statements to police depends
on whether they were given voluntarily. The law does not, however, require that
police issue any kind of
warning instructing suspects of their rights.
Resources:
What is the Miranda
Warning?- Legal debates and cited cases
Supreme
Court Reaffirms Miranda Decision