Suspects must explicitly tell police they want to be silent to invoke their Miranda protection during interrogations, the Supreme Court ruled today, according to the Associated Press. A right to remain silent and a right to a lawyer are Miranda rights warnings that police recite to suspects during arrests and interrogations.
The justices ruled, 5 to 4, that suspects must tell police they are going to remain silent to stop an interrogation, just as they must tell police that they want a lawyer. The ruling was in a case where a suspect remained mostly silent for a three-hour interrogation by police from Southfield, Mi., before implicating himself in a murder. The opinion was written by Justice Anthony Kennedy for the court's more- conservative justices; Justice Sonia Sotomayor filed a dissent for the more-liberal wing.
Posted by Jay
Tuesday, June 01, 2010 01:55
Wow, there are a lot of rulings being issued on Miranda this year. Is it that hard to standardize them?
http://lawblog.legalmatch.com/2010/05/25/florida-case-addresses-miranda-warnings/
Posted by Mike
Tuesday, June 01, 2010 12:27
They have just filled up every prison in the country, keeping the Prison Industrial Complex going strong for years to come.