 
September 15, 2004
Reviewed by: David Pitt
It seems odd to think of it, but a
suspect's right to remain silent is only
four decades old. Well, that's not
precisely true: U.S. citizens have had
the right not to incriminate themselves
for some time, but it was not until the
1963 case of Miranda v. Arizona that
advising a suspect of the right to
remain silent became encoded in law.
When told he had been identified by a
witness, Ernesto Miranda, an accused
serial rapist, figured he might as well
fess up. He didn't know he had the right
to keep his mouth shut because the
police officers hadn't told him. That
simple, seemingly insignificant incident
changed the American legal system in a
massive way.
The author, an attorney and law
professor who knew many of the people
involved in the Miranda case and its
aftermath, tells the story simply,
making even the most complicated and
subtle legal points entirely clear. He
also explores how the Miranda decision
affects law enforcement in the post-9/11
world. Interesting, timely, and
important.
from Arizona State
University Insight
September 15, 2004
By John Jarvis
Anyone who’s watched a police drama on television
can probably recite the “Miranda warning” by heart. The authorities,
after all, are supposed to notify suspects before they are subjected to
custodial interrogation.
But what some people
may not know is that the now-famous phrase traces its roots back to a
1963 criminal case in Arizona. There may be no one more familiar with
the Miranda case and its impact on U.S. history than Gary Stuart, who
serves on the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) and has written a book
titled “Miranda: The Story of Stuart America’s Right to Remain Silent.”
“The core of this
book is about something that happens thousands of times every day in
America,” Stuart says. The Alumni Lounge in ASU’s Memorial Union will be
the site of a book-signing reception for Stuart at 3:30 p.m., Oct. 4,
hosted by ASU President Michael Crow. The reception also will feature
Gov. Janet Napolitano - who wrote the foreword for the book - and other
ABOR members. Included at the reception will be Lorraine Frank, the
widow of the late John P. Frank (1917—2002), to whom Stuart dedicated
the book. The John P. Frank Lecture Series at ASU’s School of Justice
and Social Inquiry is named after the prominent Arizona lawyer, who made
a name for himself as one of the defense attorneys in the Miranda case.
“I undertook the
writing of this book not simply because Miranda v. Arizona stands as one
of the most important events in the annals of American legal history,”
says Stuart, who teaches trial advocacy, legal ethics and creative
writing for lawyers at ASU’s College of Law. “I was also drawn to the
story because I’ve spent my career practicing, teaching, and writing
about the law in the state where the story began, unfolded and
ultimately concluded.”
Ernesto Miranda was
an uneducated Hispanic man arrested in March 1963 in connection with a
series of sexual assaults. He confessed to the crimes and was convicted
almost entirely because he had incriminated himself without knowing
it
and
without knowing he didn’t have to.
Stuart, who received his bachelor’s degree in 1965 and his law degree in
1967 from the University of Arizona, is a trial lawyer and former law
review editor who knows many of the people involved in the case, which
ranks as one of the most significant ever heard by the U.S. Supreme
Court.
In his book, Stuart
reveals the inside story about the Miranda case, as well as the legal
history of the accused’s right to seek counsel and to remain silent. “In
1966, when Miranda came down, I was a third-year law student at the
University of Arizona,” Stuart says. “I was lucky enough to take
advanced constitutional law from Professor John P. Frank, the man
largely responsible for the legal consequences in the Miranda case.”
Frank teamed with
John Flynn to serve as Miranda’s counsel, and their work soon focused a
national spotlight on the issue of their client’s rights. The U.S.
Supreme Court ruled in 1966 that Miranda’s rights had been violated;
that decision resulted in the “Miranda warning,” which reads:
“You
have
the right to
remain silent. Anything you say can and
will be
used against
you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and
to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford
a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense.”
Ten years after the
ruling in the case that bears his name, Miranda was killed in a knife
fight at a Phoenix bar; his suspected killer was read the “Miranda
warning” and declined to give a statement. He was released and promptly
fled to Mexico. The Miranda murder case became a “closed file.”
Stuart’s book
considers the legacy of the Miranda case and its implications for cases
in the wake of 9/11, including the rights of suspected terrorists. In
the book, 24 individuals directly concerned with the decision — lawyers,
judges and police officers, as well as suspects, scholars and ordinary
citizens — offer observations on the case’s impact on law enforcement
and on the rights of the accused.
“Today, thousands of
police officers all over America give 30-second tutorials on
constitutional law; we call them ‘Miranda warnings,’ “Stuart says. “That
alone is reason enough to celebrate the Miranda decision.”
“Gary Stuart has written a stirring, vivid history of a watershed moment
in American justice - a data-rich account that reads at times like a
novel. But more, his fresh look at the Miranda ruling and our right to
remain silent could not be more timely. Knowing the basis of what has
become a cornerstone of our legal system is essential to understanding
the part of the sudden evolution we're undergoing as a nation. This may
be the most important book published by a university press this year.
It is magnificent work.”
—Ron
Carlson,
Regents Professor of English, Arizona State University
"A fascinating and highly readable account of the events and issues
surrounding the Supreme Court's decision in Miranda. Stuart draws on
his multiple talents as lawyer, writer, and friend of the major Arizona
protagonists in this case to offer a rich and rewarding understanding,
for layman and lawyer alike, as to how Miranda became a household word
in the American criminal justice system."
—Lattie
Coor,
President Emeritus
and Professor of Public Affairs, Arizona State University
"This book is a tribute to both Miranda v. Arizona and its brilliant
legal architect--John P. Frank, Esq. Frank's close friend, Gary Stuart,
has captured the thinking, writing, and persuasive genius that
contributed so much to making police interrogation of suspects fairer
through the now famous Miranda Warnings. The American right to remain
silent, regardless of whether one can afford a lawyer, comes to life in
this engaging recounting of the complex details of the case, its progeny
and its legacy."
—Michael
Traynor, Esq.,
San Francisco, California
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