“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney present now and at any further questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you free of charge.” Does this sound relatively familiar? Turns out that there is not just one Miranda. Police agencies can change the wording as long as the rights are clearly stated. You do not have to be read your rights at the time of arrest. They only have to Mirandize you before they can question you.
So, how many of us actually understand the Miranda Warning? How many people think that once you are Mirandized the police nicely go call your lawyer and wait for them to arrive before they question you? I think a large portion of us have seen Law & Order, Criminal Minds, NCIS, CSI, etc. We see the officers get pissed because some one “lawyers up”. We also see people who flat out refuse to say anything. So, what happens in reality? You have to say “I want a lawyer” in order to get one. No one just offers to get one for you and past reading you Miranda they will usually never again mention you have the right to an attorney.
Well, now the Supreme Court ruled a person has to actually say they want to remain silent just like they have to ask for a lawyer. Just “being” silent is not good enough anymore. It certainly seems contradictory to “the right to remain silent” doesn’t it?
So who will this really help/hurt? Criminals generally know the court/police system just as well, and in some cases better, than the attorneys. They know their Miranda and they know the interrogation process. If they are career criminals and smart, they usually know exactly how to keep quiet and lawyer up. But how much does the rest of society, especially immigrants, know about Miranda and the legal police procedures for interviewing, interrogation, and arrest? I believe that the majority of us do not know enough.
Anyone can be hauled in, Mirandized, and questioned. You don’t actually have to arrest a person to interview/interrogate them. You merely have to read them Miranda. So, if anyone goes to the police and accuses you of a crime, you could be taken in for questioning. People think you should be helpful to the police and honest, because after all , you have done nothing wrong. However, the truth does not always set you free. The police are there to make arrests. The DA is there to make convictions. Truth does not always mean justice.
People who are living here without documentation are going to be the biggest group affected by this I believe. They may not speak any or enough English to understand what is happening and probably don’t know anything about Miranda. If they do speak enough English they may be scared enough of any uniformed official to say anything the police ask them to without having done anything. Many people have fled here from countries where uniformed officials are the gangs, rapists and murderers. They know to just do whatever they are told or they will die! These poor people will confess to any crime you want them too because they believe you will torture and kill them if they don’t!
I fear that this ruling is directly related to the horrible immigration law that Arizona has passed. They are going to be able to arrest, prosecute, and jail more and more people that have done nothing wrong but try to live free of poverty, terror, and tyranny. The DAs and police are going to benefit with higher arrest and conviction rates. And the For-Profit Prison system is going to be bursting with people that are not really criminals and we are going to be paying the bill and it is a much higher bill than if the government was still running the prison system. This is going to make the owners of the prisons even richer and that is the only “benefit” I see to this new ruling. This may make the “interview” process go faster than if the person never says a word even to ask for a lawyer, however.
Moral of the story: if the police ever ask you to “come down to the station for a little chat” or “take you down to the station for and interview”. Immediately ask for a lawyer and tell them you want to remain silent. Very little good can come from you being “cooperative” in their investigation if you are the “person of interest” or “suspect”.
