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Miranda Warnings

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U.S. Constitution – The Miranda Warning
Technically, The Miranda Warning is not in the U.S. Constitution. The Miranda Warning came about after Miranda vs. Arizona in 1966. But it refers to the Fifth Amendment right that protects against self-incrimination, or "the right to remain silent". (Cornell)
Amendment V
“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 offense 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.” (Mount 2010)
Basically, the 5th amendment is to protect people in situations from getting in trouble it even protects ignorant suspects from incriminating themselves. In particular, it stops you from having to speak to the police or testify against yourself before a court, so it is best to keep your mouth shut until you have a lawyer. It also says that the government has to have a reason for arresting you and that you have the right to a trial with a jury, that you cannot be charged with capital a crime (murder) without a Grand Jury's permission, except in cases when you’re in the military while under service in wartime or public danger, the military goes by a different set of rules. The 5th Amendment also says that you cannot be tried again for the same crime once you have been acquitted (double jeopardy) which means that the prosecution only gets one bite at the apple. The Constitution does not say that individuals can't be put on trial again for the same offense, it says that should you be tried again on the same charge or charges, that you can't be executed or imprisoned for life without the possibility of parole. As far as the police and prosecutors are concerned they support the Miranda Warning rule because it is a necessary safeguard, but they can work around the Fifth Amendment, that’s their job, to get a conviction. If they can get you to say anything “like okay, I didn’t like him, he got what he deserved, but I didn’t do it”, you will be arrested, indicted, the DA will make their case, and the jury will possibly convict on just those words. Miranda also protects suspects from overzealous police officers. Although most law-enforcement agents in the United States are decent men and women, some abuse their power. (Leo 2009)
This is the Miranda Warning as follows:
“1. You have the right to remain silent
2. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of the law
3. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him present with you while you are being questioned
4. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer one will be appointed to represent you before any questioning if you wish
5. You can decide at any time to exercise these rights and not answer any questions or make any statements
Do you understand each of these rights I have explained to you?
Having these rights in mind, do you wish to talk to us now?” (Mount 2010)

Case Law 1
In Miranda v. Arizona, Ernesto Miranda was arrested for kidnap and rape and was interrogated for a long period of time. This interrogation resulted in a signed confession. At court Miranda’s lawyer argued that the confession was obtained from a person who does not understand their rights. The court decided in Miranda's favor by a 5-4 vote, and agreed that a person should be informed of their rights and understand them before the police proceed with questioning and Miranda was not. They said that “prosecutors could not use statements stemming from custodial interrogation of defendants unless they demonstrated the use of procedural safeguards "effective to secure the privilege against self-incrimination.”(samaha, 2008 pg. 286 ) The decision of the court also was that the officers neglected to inform Miranda of his right to remain silent and the right to have council present during interrogations.
Case Law 2
In Schmerber v. California, Armando Schmerber was arrested for drunk driving while receiving treatment for injuries in a hospital a police officer ordered a doctor to take a blood sample, and when the results came back showed that Schmerber had been drunk while driving. The blood test was introduced as evidence in court and Schmerber was convicted. The question was did the blood test violate the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee against self- incrimination? Their answer was no, because that the protection against self-incrimination applied specifically to forced communications or testimony, and by drawing blood and admitting it into evidence was not forced communications or testimony, so it was affirmed. I agree.
Current Research
The two articles I found, Mourning Miranda by Charles D. Weisselberg, and Interrogation Stories by Ann M. Coughlin, basically say the same thing, that the Miranda Warnings do not mean a thing, that law-enforcement basically work around Miranda, and how top law enforcement can coerce a confession from anyone and they don’t seem to care whether they are guilty or not. Both articles seem to explain that it is written down in some interrogation manual that is not for public view, a playwright of sorts; a script that is given to police officers by their department that describes the different ways a police interrogator should use to persuade a suspect into confessing(Coughlin 2009). They both seem to agree that the suspect is put in a room for long periods of time alone, and then they bring in a professional interrogator who tells you stories of what possibly happened, and why you did it and can understand why you did it. Of Course they will lend you a sympathetic ear, but in the long run they will use every word against you for prosecution and a conviction. They also seem to agree that there needs to be some sort of safe guards written into the Fifth Amendment that should protect against self-incrimination because police are trained to work around our constitutional rights. (Weisselberg, 2008)

References
Mount, S. (2010). Constitutional topic: due process. Retrieved October 15, 2012 from http://www.usconstitution.net/miranda.html
Mount, S. (2010). Constitutional topic: due process. Retrieved October 15, 2012 from http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_duep.html
Leo, Richard, (2009 ), False Confessions.org., From Awareness to Reform. Retrieved October 15, 2012 from http://www.falseconfessions.org/experts/48-richard-leo
Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute, Self-Incrimination. Retrieved October 15, 2012 from http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/self-incrimination?quicktabs_3=0#quicktabs-3
Weisselberg, Charles D., Mourning Miranda. California Law Review, Inc. Vol. 96, p. 1519, 2008; Retrieved October 20, 2012 from Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20441057
Coughlin, Anne M., Interrogation Stories. Virginia Law Review, Vol. 95, No. 7, pp. 1599-1661, Nov., 2009; Retrieved October 20, 2012 Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25593654 samaha, J. (2008). Criminal procedure. (7 ed.). belmont: thompson higher education. Miranda v. Arizona, pg. 286-289., Schmerber v. California, pg. 284-285

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