Title: Miranda v. Arizona | Definition, Background, & Facts | Britannica
Headings: Miranda v. Arizona
Miranda v. Arizona
law case
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Content: Miranda v. Arizona | Definition, Background, & Facts | Britannica
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Miranda v. Arizona
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Miranda v. Arizona, legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on June 13, 1966, established a code of conduct for police interrogations of criminal suspects held in custody. Chief Justice Earl Warren, writing for a 5–4 majority, held that prosecutors may not use statements made by suspects under questioning in police custody unless certain minimum procedural safeguards were followed. He specified new guidelines to ensure “that the individual is accorded his privilege under the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution not to be compelled to incriminate himself .” Known as the Miranda warnings, these guidelines included informing arrested persons prior to questioning that they have the right to remain silent, that anything they say may be used against them as evidence, that they have the right to have an attorney present, and that if they are unable to afford an attorney, one will be appointed for them. Warren also declared that police may not question (or continue questioning) a suspect in custody if at any stage of the process he “indicates in any manner that he does not wish to be interrogated” or “indicates in any manner…that he wishes to consult with an attorney.” Although suspects could waive their rights to remain silent and to consult an attorney, their waivers were valid (for the purpose of using their statements in court) only if they were performed “voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently.” The Miranda decision was one of the most controversial rulings of the Warren Court, which had become increasingly concerned about the methods used by local police to obtain confessions. Miranda v. Arizona reversed an Arizona court’s conviction of Ernesto Miranda on charges of kidnapping and rape. After being identified in a police lineup, Miranda had been questioned by police; he confessed and then signed a written statement without first having been told that he had the right to have a lawyer present to advise him or that he had the right to remain silent.