CREATORS
June 24, 2025
Nearly 60 years ago, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter
Stewart asked Attorney John J. Flynn, representing Ernesto Miranda before the
court, what rights an accused should be advised of while in custody. Flynn
replied, "(H)e had a right not to incriminate himself, that he had the
right not to make any statement, that he had a right to be free from further
questioning ... to be represented adequately by counsel in court, that if he
was too indigent and poor to employ counsel, that the state would furnish him
counsel."
So were born the Miranda warnings. The landmark Supreme
Court decision in Miranda v. Arizona has become part of American culture.
Miranda's conversion from legal holding to cultural icon is due mainly to the
nation's insatiable appetite for television crime dramas. Everyone with a
television has heard Miranda warnings.
What did Miranda do to earn his place in the American
consciousness? In 1963, Ernesto Miranda was arrested for robbery. While in the
midst of a custodial interrogation by police he confessed to raping an
18-year-old woman. At trial, prosecutors offered his confession into evidence.
Miranda was convicted of rape and sentenced to prison. He appealed and his case
made its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Miranda and excluded his
confession. Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote the court's opinion finding a
confession would be barred under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments unless a
suspect had been made aware of his rights and the suspect had waived them.
Warren made it clear, "If the individual indicates in any manner, at any
time prior to or during questioning, that he wishes to remain silent, the
interrogation must cease ... If the individual states that he wants an
attorney, the interrogation must cease until an attorney is present."
As we soon mark 60 years since the decision in Miranda, it
is important to note that the decision has remained far from pristine over the
years. Nor was the ruling placed on a pedestal beyond the reach of activist
courts — quite the contrary — the U.S. Supreme Court has continually tested,
and at times, expanded and restricted the decision.
For instance, in 1981, the Edwards rule was established. The
Court held that once an accused invoked his right to have counsel present
during custodial interrogation a valid waiver of that right could not be later
established. The rule created a presumption that once a suspect invoked his
right to the presence of counsel pursuant to Miranda, any waiver of that right
in response to a subsequent police attempt at custodial interrogation was
involuntary.
That changed in 2010. In a case out of Maryland, the Court
established a bright-line rule finding that if at least 14 days passed from the
time the suspect invoked his rights under Miranda, the police could again
initiate an interrogation of the suspect.
Although the Miranda warnings are etched in nearly
everyone's consciousness, the Supreme Court found that the police do not have
to use those magical words to get the point across. In a 2010 case out of
Florida, the court said as long as the rights are articulated to a suspect in a
reasonable manner and the rights are understood, they are sufficient.
Then, in 2011, the Supreme Court decided a North Carolina
case establishing for the first time that law enforcement must consider a
suspect's juvenile status when carrying out the requirements of Miranda.
In 2022, the high Court held that a Miranda violation does
not automatically translate into a constitutional violation actionable under
the Civil Rights Act. The Court reasoned that Miranda warnings are procedural
safeguards, not constitutional rights, and that a violation of these safeguards
does not necessarily mean a violation of the Fifth Amendment.
Miranda is ever evolving. The late Justice Antonin Scalia
was a critic of Miranda, although he didn't have time to dismantle the ruling.
With six conservative justices on the court, the end may be near.
Matthew T. Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett,
Kelly & George P.C. His book The Executioner's Toll, 2010 was released by
McFarland Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him
on Twitter @MatthewTMangino
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