HIS 303
Prof. Dorey
January 6, 2011
On March 13, 1963, in Phoenix, Arizona, Ernesto Miranda, a man with a past criminal record, was arrested at Arizona in his home. Ernesto Miranda was arrested and brought into custody by the police and brought to the Phoenix police station. He was suspected and then later identified as the person who stole $8.00 from a Phoenix, Arizona bank worker. Ernesto Miranda was questioned for two hours by police, then confessed to the robbery, unexpectedly he also confessed to kidnapping and raping an 18 year old girl 11 days earlier. He had signed the two written confessions. During the arrest and questioning, Miranda was never told he had the right to remain silent, to have a lawyer, and to be protected against self-incrimination.
On June 19, 1963, Miranda was trialed in court for the robbery charges from Barbara Roe, the women who accused him of the robbery. His lawyer, Alvin Moore, argued that Miranda was mentally ill, hoping to gain his client freedom. Two doctors examined Miranda and conclude that he was not mentally ill. They said, “Miranda was aware of the nature and quality of his acts and he was aware that what he did was wrong.” Miranda’s mentally ill claim was dropped.
During the trial on June 19th, Carroll Cooley, the officer who questioned Miranda had admitted that he did not tell Miranda that he was allowed an attorney at the time, and that anything he said could be used against him in court. Alvin Moore believed the confession’s of Miranda were not voluntary and that the confessions should be dismissed. The judge disagreed, and found Miranda guilty on the robbery charges.
They next day, on June 20,1963, was Miranda’s kidnapping and rape trail. Once again Alvin Moore asked for the confessions to be dismissed as evidence because it was a violation of Miranda’s constitutional rights, to be questioned without the knowledge of being granted an attorney and for him to know his rights. The judge
Bibliography: * Kermit Hall, John J. Patrick, Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, Annenberg Public Policy Center. The Pursuit of Justice: Supreme Court Decisions That Shaped America. Oxford University Press US, 2006. * Michael Burgan, Miranda V. Arizona: The Rights of the Accused. Compass Point Books, 2006. * G. S. Prentzas, Miranda Rights: Protecting the Rights of the Accused. The Rosen Publishing Group, 2005. * http://www.thecapras.org/mcapra/miranda/rights.html#MirandaVsArizona * http://law.jrank.org/pages/6563/Escobedo-v-Illinois.html