50th anniversary of Miranda Supreme Court decision honored at Manatee Bar’s Law Day luncheon
In 2016 America, anyone arrested is read their Miranda rights, reminding them they have the right to remain silent and anything they say can or will be used against them.
In 1963, when Ernesto Miranda was arrested, taken to a police station and interrogated for two hours before he signed a confession, no one was informed of those rights granted by the U.S. Constitution. Miranda was later convicted, but the decision was overturned by the 1966 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miranda v. Arizona, which stated his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination had been violated.
The Miranda decision was not a popular decision. It engendered a tremendous political backlash.
Senior Circuit Judge Peter Dubensky
Senior Circuit Judge Peter Dubensky shared the history leading to the landmark Supreme Court decision in Miranda v. Arizona during the Manatee County Bar Association's Law Day luncheon Friday afternoon.
“The Miranda decision was not a popular decision. It engendered a tremendous political backlash,” Dubensky said. “But America was in a time of great, great turbulence: riots, demonstrations, protests were the norm, political. It was really a very turbulent era for those of us that went through it.”
Dubensky took the dozens in attendance through various key points in history leading to the decision.
He used quotes to illustrate this moment in time, beginning first with a Bible verse: “Reveal your ways unto the Lord.”
During trials in the 1500s and beyond, defendants were allowed to address the jury on their own behalf but not under oath, he said.
“But why couldn’t defendants testify under oath? ... No person can be compelled to be a witness against themselves,” Dubensky said. “The oath in the 1500s and 1600s meant so much more as a living, breathing thing than it does in the 21st century.”
Other judges in attendance appeared to agree as he spoke.
“All of us as lawyers and judges know that the oath means nothing to half the people that get up on the witness stand,” Dubensky added.
Jessica De Leon: 941-745-7049, @JDeLeon1012
This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 4:53 PM with the headline "50th anniversary of Miranda Supreme Court decision honored at Manatee Bar’s Law Day luncheon."