Decided 50 years ago this June, Miranda v. Arizona, is one of the best known cases ever to have come before the U.S. Supreme Court. Everyone has heard of Miranda warnings. Many may be unfamiliar with the case’s full name, the facts that led up to it, or its legal underpinnings. But we all know well the phrases beginning “You have the right to remain silent.” The Miranda warning is embedded in our criminal justice system and in our culture, and it is a powerful statement of the government’s duty to protect the rights and privileges granted to individuals by our Constitution.
This year on Law Day, we reflect on how Miranda v. Arizona has guided our understanding of the Fifth Amendment. We consider the procedural safeguards required to protect Fifth Amendment privileges and the obligations of law enforcement and our courts to ensure that those procedural safeguards are preserved, both on their own and as part of the wider array of privileges and protections. Miranda provided a road map for getting it right when it comes to the meaningful understanding and exercise of the privilege against self-incrimination. That obligation to get it right extends beyond the Fifth Amendment protections articulated in Miranda v. Arizona to the work of the courts more broadly. The central mission of our courts is to maintain the rule of law and to protect individual rights, including those articulated in Miranda, and to do that in a way that is efficient, timely, and fundamentally just. Delays in our system mean unnecessary incarceration, expense, and uncertainty. Simply addressing delay but clinging to outmoded practices that are relics of an earlier time, however, is not enough. Our court system must ensure that our procedures make sense, work efficiently, and best serve litigants, lawyers, and the public.
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