Back in 1963, a fellow named Ernesto Miranda was arrested in Phoenix in connection with rape and kidnapping charges. While in police custody, Miranda was interrogated, and he eventually confessed and was convicted. Miranda had never been told that he had the right to a lawyer, or that he had the right to remain silent.
The case, Miranda v. Arizona, went to the United States Supreme Court, which overturned the conviction by a 5-4 vote in June 1966. In the majority opinion, Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote that the suspect must be advised of his rights prior to being questioned by the police. The case contains an enumeration of a suspect’s rights, and a required warning, language that has become well known in American culture. You can hear it on TV shows and movies, and read it in novels. Just about any tale involving crime includes the warning, which advises a suspect, prior to questioning, that:
- He may to refuse to talk to the police, i.e., remain silent.
- If he chooses to speak, what he says can be used against him in court.
- He has the right to speak to an attorney.
- If he is indigent, an attorney will be appointed for him.
The case marked the birth of the “Miranda warning.”
The decision was controversial, to say the least, when it was written 50 years ago. But the opinion is clear about the rationale. It says essentially that doing a great right – in this case convicting a rapist and kidnapper – does not justify a wrong, that is, the deprivation of the suspect’s constitutional rights.
What Ever Happened to Mr. Miranda?
Some of you may be interested in what happened to Miranda after his conviction was set aside. Well, he was retried, and convicted again. He received a prison sentence, and was released in 1972. He was apparently in and out of jail for several years after that. And in 1976, he was killed in a bar fight. Interestingly, his accused attacker was read his “Miranda rights,” and never answered questions from the police. No one was convicted of killing Miranda, and the case remains unsolved.
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