Wrapping up Miranda Series

In the last month we have been looking at Miranda and its impact on defendant's rights. Here at The Law Offices of Randall J. Craig, PLLC we are very concerned about any statements a client makes to law enforcement.  As I have stated earlier, the criminal justice system has chipped away at the impact Miranda initially had in protecting your rights to remain silent.  For example in Harris v. New York, the Court held that incriminating statements taken from a defendant after arrest in violation of Miranda could be used for impeachment purposes.  Chief Justice Berger declared that the defendant could not hide behind his apparent perjured testimony on direct examination and provide himself with a shield against contradiction of his untruths.  In Michigan v. Tucker, a case that involved a suspect in a rape investigation who was advised of his rights under Miranda (except his right to appointed counsel) if he was indigent.  The Court ultimately allowed the confession, finding that the failure by police to offer the defendant the full panoply of Miranda rights was not a fatal error.  Citing Harris, the Court  concluded, "This Court has already recognized that a failure to give interrogated suspects full Miranda warnings does not entitle the suspect to insist that statements made by him be excluded in every conceivable context."  In North Carolina v. Butler,  the Court held that an explicit, signed waiver of the rights afforded under Miranda was not essential. It said, in proper cases, an implicit waiver would suffice.  Finally in New York v. Quarles, which established the so called "public safety exception" to the Exclusionary Rule, Associate Justice William Rehnquist, writing for the 6-3 majority, found that an incriminating statement about the locations of a pistol, made by an in custody suspect immediatley following his apprehension was admissable against him despite the failure of the arresting officer to advise the suspect of his Miranda rights.  The Court found that the officer's hasty questioning was "to insure that further danger to the public did not result from the concealment of the gun in a public area."  It should be noted that following the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice invoked the public safety exception to permit the FBI to question bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev without granting him access to counsel. #criminaldefenselawyer #scottsdalecriminaldefense #Scottsdalefelonylawyer #Scottsdalemisdemeanor #scottsdalecriminaldamage #scottsdaledisorderlyconduct #scottsdalerandallcraig, #scottsdalecriminalattorney

     If you have been charged with any criminal offense and you need a criminal defense lawyer, call The Law Offices of Randall J. Craig, PLLC.  You may reach us via the web at www.randalljcraig.com or www.phoenixfelonycriminaldefense.com. You may also call us at (480) 767-0400. #criminaldefenselawyer #criminal