In light of the latest pronouncements from the all-knowing Joe Lieberman and his buddy Lindsey Graham, it might be useful to remember what the actual instructions from the Supreme Court were in the Miranda v. Arizona decision:
The person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be clearly informed that he has the right to remain silent, and that anything he says will be used against him in the court of law; he must be clearly informed that he has the right to consult with a lawyer and to have the lawyer with him during interrogation, and that, if he is indigent, a lawyer will be appointed to represent him.That all seems reasonable to me. Not to some in Congress, though. In an all-too-typical knee-jerk reaction to a highly-visible crime, Representative Peter King and the aforementioned Senators Lieberman and Graham would deny American citizens that right. Here's Graham today:
Even if you’re an American citizen helping the enemy, you should be viewed as a potential military threat, not some guy who tried to commit a crime in Times Square.Here's Lieberman yesterday:
. . .American citizens who choose to become affiliated with foreign terrorist organizations, whether they should not also be deprived automatically of their citizenship, and therefore be deprived of rights that come with that citizenship when they are apprehended and charged with a terrorist act.What on earth are these people afraid of? The first time this issue of Miranda surfaced it had to do with the Christmas bomber. He was Mirandized after coming out of surgery and continued to cooperate. The alleged perpetrator in the current case, Faisal Shahzad, has continued to cooperate after being Mirandized. So says the Deputy Director of the FBI.
Do these guys really want a police state?
Posted by Linkmeister at May 5, 2010 12:00 PM | TrackBackThey assume a police state would never inconvenience THEM. There's a novel there, if someone who can plot and write dialog wants to try it.
Posted by: hedera at May 5, 2010 03:20 PM