Do you know your rights? Today the AP reported that the Supreme Court made significant changes to the Miranda law. (sorry, I'm not sure how to link articles to postings; it's on the wires, though.)
‘The courts conservatives used their 5-4 advantage to rule that suspects must break their silence and tell police they are going to remain quiet if they want to invoke their "right to remain silent" and stop an interrogation, just as they must tell police that they want a lawyer.’ In part,
The high court said for the first time that a suspect's request for a lawyer is good for only 14 days after the person is released from police custody. The 9-0 ruling pulled back from an earlier decision that said that police must halt all questioning for all time if a suspect asks for a lawyer.
The high court said for the first time that a suspect's request for a lawyer is good for only 14 days after the person is released from police custody. The 9-0 ruling pulled back from an earlier decision that said that police must halt all questioning for all time if a suspect asks for a lawyer.
Police can now attempt to question a suspect who asked for a lawyer — once the person has been released from custody for at least two weeks — without violating the person's constitutional rights and without having to repeat the Miranda warning.
"In our judgment, 14 days will provide plenty of time for the suspect to get reacclimated to his normal life, to consult with friends and counsel and to shake off any residual coercive effects of his prior custody," said Justice Antonin Scalia, who wrote the majority opinion.
But Justice Sonia Sotomayor said the majority's decision "turns Miranda upside down." Criminal suspects must now unambiguously invoke their right to remain silent — which counter intuitively requires them to speak," she said. "At the same time, suspects will be legally presumed to have waived their rights even if they have given no clear expression of their intent to do so."
Those decisions open up ways for cops to work around Miranda," Fisher said.
First of all, this news is two months old. The case was decided on June 2.
Second, according to most lawyers, it doesn't change much at all. You still have the right to remain silent as the Miranda warning says. The only thing is that now you must actually SAY that you're invoking that right.
It's a minor change, and won't affect the police at all since they typically ignore your rights anyway, unless you insist on a lawyer AND KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. Now, you just have to say "I'm invoking my right to remain silent and I want my lawyer" and THEN shut up.
If ever read my rights and asked 'Do you understand these rights?' My response will be "Hell no I dodn't understand my rights, I'm not a lawyer! And since you read me my rights I demand a lawyer to speak for me and I do not wish to speak to you further at ALL!'
“A bill that would give law enforcement more leeway during interrogations of people deemed a public security risk would "gut" the rights afforded to people who have been arrested, critics say.”
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