A famous American case, illegal procedure leads to acquittal.

1963 one day in early spring, mexican american Ernesto Miranda, who was in her twenties, was taken from her home by the police to the police station in Phoenix, Arizona for questioning. Prior to this, a 18-year-old theater attendant was driven to the suburbs by a stranger on his way home from the night shift and raped, and then was thrown near his home. A week later, the girl happened to see a car similar to the one driven by her rapist. The police tracked down the owner of the car, Tevela Hoffman, and learned that Miranda, the partner who lived with Tevela, had a criminal record, so they took him to the police station as a suspect.

Carlo Cooley is the chief detective in charge of interrogating Miranda in Arizona Police Department. Now he has retired. He recalled the trial of Miranda at that time. He said: "After entering the interrogation room, I told him that we recognized his car and asked him if he dragged a girl into the car and took her to the suburbs to rape her. He flatly denied it. I asked him where he was the night of the accident, and he said he was working. He said he didn't know about it, and he wasn't at the crime scene. The trial lasted for half an hour and our conversation was friendly. I asked him if he would like to line up with several other men, and he agreed. "

Detective Cooley asked the victim girl to identify the criminal among these people, but she couldn't confirm that it was Miranda, only that he was the most similar one. Detective Cooley went back to interrogate Miranda. He said, "Miranda asked me, how is his situation? What he means is to recognize the situation clearly. I said, this is not good. He said, then I'd better tell the truth. He admitted his crime from beginning to end, and he also admitted the bookmark in writing. "

You may guess that the case is over, then you are wrong. Because Miranda was unable to hire a lawyer, the court appointed a defense lawyer for him. After studying the relevant evidence, the lawyer found that the police obtained the confession by improper means, so he decided to appeal.

Debs once questioned Miranda as a detective, and now she is a lawyer in Phoenix. He recalled: "Miranda's defense lawyer asked us about Miranda's arrest. He asked us how Miranda was arrested and whether she was knocked down. Did we tell him that she has the right to hire a lawyer and doesn't answer police questions? Our answer isno. "

The defense lawyer explained to the court that Miranda's confession could not be used as evidence to prove her guilt because the police had no right to inform the suspect in advance. However, the judge pointed out that the constitutional right to remain silent did not apply to suspects detained by the police and dismissed the appeal. The court convicted Miranda of two crimes: rape and kidnapping, and sentenced him to double imprisonment of 20 to 30 years. 1966 On February 28th, Miranda's case finally appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

1In June, 966, the US Supreme Court overturned the decision of the Arizona Supreme Court by a majority of five to four, and declared Miranda's confession invalid. The Supreme Court used the power of judicial review to interpret the provisions of the Fifth Amendment on the right to silence, pointing out that before interrogating a suspect, the police must tell the suspect that he has the right to hire a lawyer and ask the lawyer to be present. If the suspect is not informed of these rights, all his confessions are invalid.