David B. Wheeler Federal Government 2305 October 12, 2015

Miranda V. Arizona (1966) No. 759 In 1963 Ernesto Miranda was arrested for the kidnapping and rape of a 18 year old female although he confessed under police interrogation, he was never informed of his right to remain silent. Miranda was eventually convicted but appealed to the Supreme Court in 1966 claiming his confession was unconstitutional. In the case the Supreme Court was tasked with deciding whether or not law officials must inform a defendant of his or her rights prior to investigation. The court reviewed three other cases, in Vignera V. New York, Westover V. United States, and California V. Stewart in all these cases suspects were questioned by police officers, detectives, and prosecuting attorneys in rooms that where cut off from the outside world. In none of these cases were suspects given warnings of their rights at the outset of their interrogation. The case was argued between the days of Feb 28, Mar 1, & 2 (1966) on June 13, 1966 under Chief Justice Earl Warren who had presided over the landmark Brown V. Board of Education (1954). In a 5-4 decision the court overturned Miranda’s conviction because Miranda was not explicitly informed of his rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the Constitution thus to protect these rights in the face of widespread ignorance of the law the court devised statements that the police are required to tell a defendant who is being detained and interrogated. The mandatory Miranda Rights begin with” the right to remain silent” and continues with the statement