Q: What is the history behind Miranda rights?
—Carey Tasersky, Brookhaven
A: Miranda rights (or warning) date to a 1966 Supreme Court decision – Miranda vs. Arizona – in which it was determined that the constitutional rights of Ernesto Miranda had been violated after he was arrested for the robbery, kidnapping and rape of a woman in Arizona in 1963.
Miranda confessed to the crimes after his arrest, and even though the victim couldn’t pick him out of a lineup, he was sentenced.
The ACLU took up his case and the Supreme Court overturned Miranda’s conviction.
The Supreme Court found in Miranda vs. Arizona that Miranda hadn’t been “apprised of his right to consult with an attorney and to have one present during the interrogation, nor was his right not to be compelled to incriminate himself effectively protected in any other manner,” it wrote.
He was retried, “claiming that the confession was false and coerced,” History.com states, but Miranda was again found guilty and remained in prison until he was released in 1972.
He was killed in a bar brawl in 1976.
California assistant attorney general Doris H. Maier and Harold Berliner, a county district attorney in California, wrote the first Miranda warning and it made its way into pop culture on “Dragnet” episodes in 1967.
The wording differs across jurisdictions, but Miranda generally informs suspects in police custody that they have the right to remain silent and to consult an attorney.
Berliner also printed wallet-sized Miranda cards and sold them to law enforcement agencies across the country, the Los Angeles Times reported in his 2010 obit.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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