Ernesto Miranda Story
When learning about or researching many famous cases, I often wondered what actually happened to the person involved. The legal battle and back story rarely ends with the famous case. In my own practice, winning in the appellate court can either be a decisive victory or simply one step toward achieving victory. I figured other people may also be curious. This is the first part in a series of looks into the back story and aftermath of these individuals made famous by their famous case. We begin with the Ernesto Miranda story.
The Famous Part Of The Ernesto Miranda Story
In 1963, Ernesto Miranda was arrested for kidnapping and rape by the Phoenix Police Department. After two hours of interrogation, he confessed. He was not told he had the right to counsel, nor was he told he had the right to remain silent. He was convicted and sentenced to 20 to 30 years in prison. The Arizona Supreme Court upheld his conviction and the admission of his confession. An appeal to the United States Supreme Court resulted in the famous decision in Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). The court threw out his confession and conviction because he was not warned of his right to remain silent and his right to an attorney. This led to the famous Miranda warnings, which are:
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you.
Failure to comply with this requirement can result in suppression of evidence after the filing of a motion to suppress.
The Not-So-Famous Part Of The Ernesto Miranda Story
Miranda’s case was sent back to the trial court, where he was retried and convicted without the use of his illegally obtained confession. He was again sentenced to serve 20-30 years in 1967. He was paroled in 1972. After his release, he made a living autographing police officer’s Miranda cards, which the police used to read the Miranda warnings to suspects. Miranda was stabbed to death in a bar in 1976. Ironically, the suspect invoked his right to remain silent and did not confess. He was released for lack of evidence against him.
Authored by Attorney Daniel Gigiano.
Attorney Daniel Gigiano practices in Wadsworth, Ohio, where he has a general practice as your Medina County Lawyer in Wadsworth, Wayne County Lawyer, Summit County Lawyer, as well as in surrounding counties. Attorney Daniel Gigiano spends a great deal of his practice in the area of criminal defense and has tried numerous jury trials to a verdict, including in Medina Common Pleas, Summit Common Pleas, Wadsworth Municipal Court, and Wayne County Municipal Court. He is located at 102 Main St., Ste. 200, Wadsworth, Ohio 44281, and can be reached at 330-336-3330.