Law Weblog

Speak up if you wish to remain silent

Sunday 6 June 2010 at 7:35 am | In News | Post Comment The “Miranda warning” (Miranda v Arizona 1966, a rape case) is the US equivalent of the UK “Judges Rules” enshrined in PACE. It requires an investigator to inform a suspect that he has the right to remain silent.

A Supreme Court decision this week overturned decades of legal precedent and police procedure by ruling that the burden is not on the police and prosecutors to make sure a defendant understands his rights. So from now on suspects must explicitly invoke their Miranda right to remain silent in order to avoid self-incrimination.

A Michigan man arrested for murder was read his Miranda rights but refused to sign a form stating he understood them, nor did he waive them. He remained silent until police asked him if he prayed for forgiveness for the fatal shooting. The man said “yes”, and that response was the basis for his murder conviction.

The Supreme Court upheld the conviction, saying the burden was on the defendant to unambiguously claim the right to silence.

In the words of one of the judges, “You have to speak up to stay silent”, the effect of the judgment is to “turn Miranda upside down.”

(UK police do not have to check that a person understands the meaning of the caution, but they frequently do)