Essay
Back in 1966 the famous Miranda v. Arizona case of the United States Supreme Court left its undeniably significant imprint on the further law enforcement. Ernesto Arturo Miranda got arrested on suspicion of kidnapping and raping a woman. After being interrogated for two hours he eventually signed a confession. However it is not known if he was told about his right to counsel during the process of interrogation. Miranda’s court-appointed lawyer, Alvin Moore, stated that the confession could not be admissible since it was not voluntary. His objection was overruled and based on the confession and other circumstantial evidence Miranda was found guilty of kidnapping and rape. Moore later filed an appeal to the Supreme Court and as a result the conviction was overturned. Thus there were spelled out some of the new requirements necessary for the protection of the accused. In this way the famous Miranda Warning made its appearance. “The exact wording of the "Miranda Rights" statement is not specified in the Supreme Court's historic decision. Instead, law enforcement agencies have created a basic set of simple statements that can be read to accused persons prior to any questioning.” (Longley) "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you. You have a right to talk to a lawyer before being questioned and to have him present when you are being questioned. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you before any questioning if you so desire." These words have become a certain part of American culture since then.
Prior to Mirada’s case, back in 1936, there was another big trial that changed the history of the US law enforcement. The Brown v. Mississippi case definitely proved that the Miranda decision that came into action thirty years later turned out to be an extremely important aspect in the protection of the accused. It also dealt with racial issues which made it even more brutal. Three black tenant farmers were accused of murdering a white planter. The main evidence at the trial was the confession of the defendants. It was openly admitted during the trial that they were retrieved after the defendants had been tortured by the police officers. However those confessions were admitted into evidence. The convictions were later affirmed by the Mississippi Supreme Court. The United States Supreme Court reviewed the case later on. It was decided that the confessions extracted through whipping and tortures could not become admissible. The Court stated that “a trial is a mere pretense where state authorities have contrived a conviction resting solely upon confessions obtained by beatings and violence.” (Moenssens) Thus the decision was reversed.
The significance of these two trials in the history of the law enforcement system in the United States is obvious. “Reportedly studies have shown that, in the decades since Miranda, the tendency of suspects to make incriminating statements to police has not declined significantly. Naturally the decision has opened up whole new avenues of law for criminal defense attorneys.” (“Miranda v. Arizona”) The decisions taken during Brown v. Mississippi and Miranda v. Arizona cases are closely related to each other and we can say that they significantly contributed to the development of police work and definitely made it more humane. Nowadays every person has guaranteed rights and freedoms and sometimes it is hard to believe that the actions pictured in these cases really took place. And the fact that the whole system has become very developed over the time is the best proof of the important influence those events had.
References
Longley, Robert. n.d. Miranda: Rights of Silence. Retrieved on 8 November 2011 from http://usgovinfo.about.com/cs/mirandarights/a/miranda.htm
Moensses, Andre A., n.d. The Evolution of the “Voluntariness” Standards. Retrieved on 8 November 2011 from http://www.forensic-evidence.com/site/Police/Pol_voluntar.html
Unknown author. n.d. Miranda v. Arizona. Retrieved on 8 November 2011 from http://www.csamerican.com/SC.asp?r=384+U.S.+436
