Miranda Rights Trivia Quiz

Answer:

While most people call them your "Miranda rights", they're actually called your "Miranda warning". In 1963, a man named Ernesto Miranda was arrested for kidnapping and rape. The Phoenix police spent two hours questioning Ernesto and he finally confessed to the crimes. At no point in the interrogation was he advised to seek legal counsel or have the right to wait to speak until he had an attorney with him.

After the conviction, attorneys questioned the legality of the investigation and cited the 5th and 6th Amendments about silence and counsel. The case made its way to the Supreme Court in 1966.

The Miranda warning originated from the 1966 Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona, ruling that police must inform suspects of their 5th and 6th Amendment rights. The 5th Amendment allows for the right against self-incrimination. The 6th Amendment gave people the right to counsel before interrogation. Led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, Miranda vs. Arizona was a landmark decision by a vote of 5 to 4 that mandates that warnings against self-incrimination must be administered by law enforcement.

Following the Supreme Court decision, officers were now required to read "Miranda warnings" and even given a card with the exact wording to say to not violate the new law. Ernesto Miranda's first conviction was overturned but he was tried again without using his self-confession and convicted for a second time. Two years after Miranda vs. Arizona, Congress passed a follow-up law which allowed for statements made by a suspect during a police interrogation to be admissible in court given the suspect made his comments voluntarily.