“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
These words known as Miranda warning are a daily mantra for countless police officers detaining countless suspects, and in the aftermath of this month’s Boston Marathon bombing we’ve been reminded not only of the hazards of police work but also of its procedural thoroughness. The person who gives his name to the warning is Ernesto Miranda of Phoenix, Arizona. In 1963, he was arrested for armed robbery. In police custody, he signed a written confession. After his conviction, his lawyers appealed successfully that he had not understood that his statement could be self-incriminating. Ernesto’s relief was short-lived; new evidence led to his retrial, conviction and imprisonment for the same crime. But the legacy remains. The case went all the way to the American Supreme Court. After the ruling, all police departments in the United States were obliged to inform those arrested of their rights.
