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Miranda V Arizona

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Miranda v. Arizona:
Half a Century Later

by:
September 2nd, 2014

I. INTRODUCTION
A. Executive Summary –
In 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court deliberated the case Miranda v. Arizona the most important aspect of due process and criminal procedure ever affecting law enforcement and prosecutorial conduct of an investigation. The main issues in this case were: * The admissibility of a defendant’s statements if such statements were made while the defendant was held in police custody or deprived of freedom of movement in a significant way; * What procedures were required to guarantee the defendant’s privilege against self-incrimination according to the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution? This case is considered the summit of the criminal procedure evolution establishing specific procedures to safeguard the rights of defendants beyond the courtroom and onto the police station. The procedural details and the breadth of civil rights tangled in these four cases, made this decision the pinnacle case in the area of criminal procedure. Nowadays, this decision gave the name to what is widely known as the “Miranda Warnings” which include: 1. The suspect has the right to remain silent, 2. Anything he/she says may be used as evidence against him, 3. He/she has a right to the presence of an attorney during questioning, and 4. If indigent, he/she has a right to a lawyer selected for him without charge.

II. STATEMENT OF FACTS RELATING TO THE CRIME A. Background –
During the 1960’s courts around the country were deliberating multiple issues regarding overzealous law enforcement tactics seeking confessions from detainees. Prior to this case, in 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Escobedo v. Illinois, 378 U.S. 478 (1964), that the Sixth Amendment prohibits the admission at trial of confession obtained during police

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