Write an essay addressing the topic below. Your essay should be 750 to 1,000 words, 5-7 pages (not including cover page and reference page), double-spaced, with a font size of 10 to 12 pt. Your paper should comply with APA. Refer to the Grading Rubric PDF(opens in a new tab) for essay grading standards. Submit your essay to your instructor.
In each of the criminal justice systems, describe the roles, duties, and responsibilities of those functions to ensure the rights of the accused are upheld and carried out. What are the implications if one or more of the functions fails to exercise these responsibilities? Use examples (such as case law) to demonstrate where a system failure has led to consequences and consider how society would operate if the Bill of Rights never existed.
The Rights of Suspects
In addition to protecting the personal freedoms of individuals, the Bill of Rights protects those suspected or accused of crimes from various forms of unfair or unjust treatment. The prominence of these protections in the Bill of Rights may seem surprising. Given the colonists’ experience of what they believed to be unjust rule by British authorities, however, and the use of the legal system to punish rebels and their sympathizers for political offenses, the impetus to ensure fair, just, and impartial treatment to everyone accused of a crime—no matter how unpopular—is perhaps more understandable. What is more, the revolutionaries, and the eventual framers of the Constitution, wanted to keep the best features of English law as well.
In addition to the protections outlined in the Fourth Amendment, which largely pertain to investigations conducted before someone has been charged with a crime, the next four amendments pertain to those suspected, accused, or convicted of crimes, as well as people engaged in other legal disputes. At every stage of the legal process, the Bill of Rights incorporates protections for these people.
The Fifth Amendment
Many of the provisions dealing with the rights of the accused are included in the Fifth Amendment; accordingly, it is one of the longest in the Bill of Rights. The Fifth Amendment states in full:
“No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
For purposes of this lesson, we will discuss what is perhaps the most famous provision of the Fifth Amendment which is its protection against self-incrimination, or the right to remain silent. This provision is so well known that we have a phrase for it: “taking the Fifth.” People have the right not to give evidence in court or to law enforcement officers that might constitute an admission of guilt or responsibility for a crime. Moreover, in a criminal trial, if someone does not testify in his or her own defense, the prosecution cannot use that failure to testify as evidence of guilt or imply that an innocent person would testify. This provision became embedded in the public consciousness following the Supreme Court’s 1966 ruling in Miranda v. Arizona(opens in a new tab), whereby suspects were required to be informed of their most important rights, including the right against self-incrimination, before being interrogated in police custody.
However, contrary to some media depictions of the Miranda warning, law enforcement officials do not necessarily have to inform suspects of their rights before they are questioned in situations where they are free to leave.
Miranda Ruling
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution(opens in a new tab) states that no person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against him or herself. Based on this right, the Supreme Court has determined that criminal suspects cannot be subject to custodial interrogations without first being informed of their constitutional rights to remain silent and to have defense counsel. When law enforcement takes a suspect into custody, the Miranda warnings must be given before any interrogation takes place.
The Miranda warnings are as follows:
You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Do you understand?
Anything you do or say may be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand?
You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. Do you understand?
If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. Do you understand?
If you decide to answer questions now without an attorney present, you will still have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney. Do you understand?
Knowing and understanding your rights as I have explained them to you, are you willing to answer my questions without an attorney present? (Miranda Rights, 2005)
As an additional review source, more information concerning the Miranda warnings can be found at Miranda Rights(opens in a new tab).
The primary purpose of the Miranda warnings is to ensure that an accused is aware of the constitutional right to remain silent before making statements to the police. Two conditions must be satisfied in order to invoke the warnings constitutionally required by Miranda. First, the suspect must have been in custody; and second, the suspect must have been subjected to police interrogation. The definition of interrogation extends only to words or actions on the part of police officers that the person being questioned should have known or was reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response.
A custodial interrogation is defined as questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his/her freedom of action in any significant way. With this in mind, the Miranda warnings are not only necessary in the classic arrest situation, but they also serve to protect individuals from incriminating themselves in all settings in which their freedom of action is curtailed in any significant way.
The initial determination of custody depends on the objective circumstances of the interrogation, not on the subjective views harbored by either the interrogating officers or the person being questioned. Thus, the only relevant inquiry is how a reasonable person in the suspect’s position would have understood the situation.
Keep in mind a few caveats. For instance, a noncustodial interrogation will not require Miranda warnings simply because the interrogation took place in a coercive environment. Otherwise, any interview of one suspected of a crime by a police officer would have coercive aspects to it, simply by virtue of the fact that the police officer is part of a law enforcement system that may ultimately cause the suspect to be charged with a crime. In addition, a noncustodial interview is not transformed into a custodial one simply because the questioning takes place in the station house or because the questioned person is one whom the police suspect.
Prior to Miranda v. Arizona 384 U.S. 436 (1966), police officers held a lot of power. They could arrest a suspect or get a confession using virtually any technique they chose. Miranda v. Arizona(opens in a new tab) changed the way police function forever. The amount of officer discretion has decreased tremendously since this case was argued and won. This case requires that officers read the Miranda rights to everyone they take into custody.
During 1963 in Phoenix, Arizona, police arrested Ernesto Miranda on rape and kidnapping charges. While at the police station, the person claiming to be the victim identified Miranda as being the perpetrator. The police then took Miranda to the interrogation room for about two hours and coerced him into signing a confession. At the top of the page was a paragraph stating that this confession was “voluntary, without threat or promises of immunity and with full knowledge of my legal rights, understanding that any statement made will be used against me” (Miranda Rights, 2005).
Miranda was not told that he could have an attorney present during questioning. The case states that, “One officer later explained that he read this paragraph to Miranda, but apparently only after Miranda had confessed orally” (Miranda Rights, 2005). This statement was later used in court, and Mr. Miranda was convicted of rape and kidnapping. The State Supreme Court affirmed the conviction.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court later ruled that Mr. Miranda’s confession was, in fact, coerced and inadmissible for use against him. Chief Justice Warren delivered the opinion of the court. Four other justices joined this opinion.
This case was reviewed on two issues: (1) Whether the confession was voluntary, and (2) Whether interrogations are constitutional. As Chief Justice Warren stated, “The modern practice of in-custody interrogation is psychologically rather than physically oriented…Interrogation still takes place in privacy” (Miranda Rights, 2005). Police interrogations are meant to get people to confess in order to plead for a lower sentence. Warren suggested that, “Confessions [shall] remain a proper element in law enforcement. Any statement given freely and voluntarily without any compelling influences is, of course, admissible in evidence” (Miranda Rights, 2005). Confessions are a great tool to use in cases like this when there is little physical evidence or when other people are involved.
Interrogations were also a key issue in this case. Chief Justice Warren wrote, “[By] custodial interrogation, we mean questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of [his] freedom of action in any significant way” (Miranda Rights, 2005). Questioning takes place several times during an investigation. For example, when a police officer arrives at the scene of the crime, the officer needs to conduct an initial investigation to assess the situation. At this point, the officer does not have to read anyone his/her rights because the person is free to say whatever he/she wishes to say. Chief Justice Warren further stated, “General, on-the-scene questioning as to facts surrounding a crime or other general questioning of citizens in the fact-finding process is not affected by our holding” (Miranda Rights, 2005). After an officer arrests a person and the person is not free to leave, then the officer must read the person his/her Miranda rights. In other words, when a person is arrested and put into the back of the police car, he/she is considered not free to leave. If the person confesses while in the back of the police car after having been read the Miranda rights, then he/she cannot refute what was said as involuntary.
Warren also stated that, “There is no requirement that police stop a person who enters a police station and states that he wishes to confess to a crime or a person who calls the police to offer a confession or any other statement he desires to make” (Miranda Rights, 2005). This simply means that police need to allow people to confess if that is their desire. The Ernesto Miranda case became a precedent case, changing the actions of law enforcement in this country. Ten years after this ruling, Ernesto Miranda was stabbed to death while playing poker at a bar (Katz & Walker, 2002). The two assailants responsible for the stabbing were arrested and given their Miranda warnings. These men had their victim to thank for the rights given to them. Because of the Miranda ruling, officers must use their discretion wisely in every circumstance. Today, interrogations are reviewed and must follow certain procedures.
As stated earlier in the lesson, the reading of the Miranda warnings is essential because if not, the defendant may claim a defense against the officer, rendering the confession or interrogation inadmissible in court. Therefore, officers usually carry the Miranda warnings on a small card in their poc