On June 13, 1966, the United States Supreme Court issued its final ruling in the case Miranda v. Arizona. Setting precedent for a set of legal warnings we now refer to as “Miranda Rights,” the case ensured that when one is detained by a law enforcement officer, the officer is required to inform the detainee of the following rights: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.”
In March 1963, Arizona police arrested Ernesto Miranda on suspicion of rape and kidnapping. He was brought to a station and interrogated by police officers. After two hours, Miranda signed a confession. When Miranda was presented at court a few weeks later, he was not given an attorney to represent him.
Two years later, a lawyer files an appeal of Miranda’s case, claiming Miranda’s constitutional rights under the 5th and 6th Amendments, including protection from self-incrimination and the right to a state-issued attorney. The state of Arizona does not change their ruling. Miranda then appeals his case to the Supreme Court. In February 1966, the case is argued before the Supreme Court. In June of that year, the court rules 5-4 that Miranda’s confession is illegitimate under the 5th and 6th Amendments. In Chief Justice Earl Warren’s written ruling, he said that any statements made by a suspect in police custody are inadmissible unless four warnings, including their rights to stay silent and be assigned an attorney, are given to them by the arresting officer.
The next year, Miranda is retried without the confession. Even so, a jury finds him guilty and sentences him to 30 years in prison, of which he serves five. Several years after being released, Miranda is stabbed to death, and his killer receives his Miranda Rights.
Learn more here:
- https://www.britannica.com/event/Miranda-v-Arizona
- https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/miranda-v-arizona
- https://www.uscourts.gov/educational-resources/educational-activities/facts-and-case-summary-miranda-v-arizona
