The Miranda Ruling: Its Past, Present, and Future (American Psychology-Law Society Series)

Where did Miranda go wrong? The purpose of this book is to identify and describe four problems with the implementation of the Miranda decision and to suggest remedies in order to have it achieve its original purpose. The four problems identified in the book are: 1. The justices, in placing restrictions of the questioning of suspects, limited these rights only to those suspects who were "in custody." The term "in custody" is vague-legally vague as well as vague to the layperson. It permits the police to question suspects without giving them their Miranda rights in those settings where it is unclear whether custody is present. 2. The Miranda warnings may not be fully understood by many suspects. There is no country-wide standardization of what is said; there are literally thousands of different versions of "the" Miranda warnings in use by different police departments in the United States. 3. Police training manuals, while recognizing the right to a "Miranda warning," have developed many ways to circumvent giving the warnings or ignoring a response in which a suspect does decide to remain silent or ask for an attorney. 4. In the 40 years since the Miranda law was established, the Supreme Court and lower courts have made decisions eroding their application. Can the original goal of the authors of the Miranda law be salvaged? This book examines the state of interrogations and the state of the law before the Miranda decision was made, the purposes and nature of the decision, and proposes recommendations for reinstituting the original goals. Synopsis: Where did Miranda go wrong? The purpose of this book is to identify and describe four problems with the implementation of the Miranda decision and to suggest remedies in order to have it achieve its original purpose. The four problems identified in the book are: 1. The justices, in placing restrictions of the questioning of suspects, limited these rights only to those suspects who were "in custody." The term "in custody" is vague-legally vague as well as vague to the layperson. It permits the police to question suspects without giving them their Miranda rights in those settings where it is unclear whether custody is present. 2. The Miranda warnings may not be fully understood by many suspects. There is no country-wide standardization of what is said; there are literally thousands of different versions of "the" Miranda warnings in use by different police departments in the United States. 3. Police training manuals, while recognizing the right to a "Miranda warning," have developed many ways to circumvent giving the warnings or ignoring a response in which a suspect does decide to remain silent or ask for an attorney. 4. In the 40 years since the Miranda law was established, the Supreme Court and lower courts have made decisions eroding their application. Can the original goal of the authors of the Miranda law be salvaged? This book examines the state of interrogations and the state of the law before the Miranda decision was made, the purposes and nature of the decision, and proposes recommendations for reinstituting the original goals Contents......Page 14 Series Foreword......Page 8 Preface......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 12 1 The Public Image of Miranda and Why It Is Incomplete......Page 18 2 What Led Up to the Miranda Decision?......Page 38 3 The Decision in Miranda v. Arizona......Page 56 4 Limitations of the Original Opinion......Page 76 5 Problems with the Comprehension of the Miranda Rights Among Vulnerable Suspects......Page 92 6 Supreme Court Decisions Since Miranda......Page 132 7 Police Reactions to the Miranda Requirements......Page 154 8 The Future of the Miranda Ruling......Page 170 References......Page 188 C......Page 202 K......Page 203 P......Page 204 Y......Page 205 Contents 14 Series Foreword 8 Preface 10 Acknowledgments 12 1 The Public Image of Miranda and Why It Is Incomplete 18 2 What Led Up to the Miranda Decision? 38 3 The Decision in Miranda v. Arizona 56 4 Limitations of the Original Opinion 76 5 Problems with the Comprehension of the Miranda Rights Among Vulnerable Suspects 92 6 Supreme Court Decisions Since Miranda 132 7 Police Reactions to the Miranda Requirements 154 8 The Future of the Miranda Ruling 170 References 188 Index 202 A 202 B 202 C 202 D 203 E 203 F 203 G 203 H 203 I 203 J 203 K 203 L 204 M 204 N 204 O 204 P 204 Q 205 R 205 S 205 T 205 U 205 V 205 W 205 Y 205 0199730903,9780199730902 The public image of Miranda and why it is incomplete What led up to the Miranda decision The decision in Miranda v. Arizona Limitations of the original decision Problems in the comprehension of the Miranda rights More recent Supreme Court decisions that erode Miranda rights Police reactions to the Miranda requirements The future of the Miranda ruling.