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Life in the USA Government and Law Police and Criminal Law
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Rights of Accused People
As discussed above in the section on the Bill of Rights, people arrested for crimes in the United States have many rights. After the Supreme Court ruling in the Miranda case, police became required to inform arrested people of their rights to remain silent and to counsel (a lawyer to represent them). Police may only seize evidence of a crime (like drugs) in a legal manner by a court ordered search warrant, or if they have “probable cause” to believe a crime has been committed. Illegally seized evidence cannot be used against a person in a criminal court case. A person cannot be convicted of a crime unless a jury, after hearing all the evidence, is totally sure the person is guilty “beyond a reasonable doubt.” This is a very strong protection. Because of these constitutional protections, many criminals go free. Before the Miranda decision, however, many police departments went too far in brutalizing suspected criminals, especially in minority neighborhoods.
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