Pros and Cons of Miranda Rights

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Pros and Cons of Miranda Rights

It is hard to believe that anyone that has been watching TV in the United States for more than 10 years does not know what the Miranda act does, but let us review for just a quick second. Back in 1963 Ernesto Miranda was arrested for one crime and signed a confession during his questioning for another crime. It was argued that he had no idea that he had the right to not speak.

Creation of the Miranda Act

By 1966, the Miranda Act was in place and it made three basic precepts. Upon arrest anyone in the United States is made verbally aware of three concepts. The first is that they do not have to speak, the second is that they have the right to legal representation and the third is that they will get a court appointed attorney if they choose to not hire one.

The act itself has gone through some growing pains, but it is still there in full effect. So what are the pros and cons of such an act? The pros are pretty straight forward, there is no reason that giving someone information can be bad. There are many people that may have committed a crime and they have the right to be aware of certain information prior to being taken into custody. This information can be nothing but helpful and everyone has the right to this information.

The Value of Following the Miranda Act

On the con side, the act itself has led to some people being released from incarceration based upon some small portion of the act not being followed. The idea of the law is to make someone aware of their rights for their own good, not to give them another way to beat the system. There are those that have taken advantage of the system and there will be those in future that will do the same. However, these issues from the past and other issues that have taken place during the arrest process have led to improvements in both the Miranda Act and in other “loophole” areas of the arrest process.

It is a fine line between trying to provide the safest legal system and becoming so bogged down in red tape that known criminals walk the streets. The Miranda Act is one of those protective acts that does it job well.