SCOTUS Rules Police Have Immunity for Miranda Violations
The Supreme Court gutted Miranda rights on June 23rd in a 6-3 court which held that a violation of Miranda v Arizona does not provide a basis for civil damages. This decision limits Miranda’s enforceability and strips the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment right against compelled self-incrimination. This in turn will have a severe disproportionate impact on the Black, Latino and minority communities in the United States. With TMJ News Network, Zainabrights brings you the latest headline. Transcript: The Supreme Court gutted Miranda rights on June 23rd in a 6-3 court which held that a violation of Miranda v Arizona does not provide a basis for civil damages. This decision limits Miranda’s enforceability and strips the Constitution’s Fifth Amendment right against compelled self-incrimination. This in turn will have a severe disproportionate impact on the Black, Latino and minority communities in the United States. With TMJ News Network, I’m Zainab and you’re watching TMJ’s Newscast. With the Supreme Court’s ruling on Vega v Tekoh on Miranda rights, written by Justice Samuel Alito and joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and justices Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, this decision will limit an individual’s protection against self-incrimination with the exception of potentially obtaining damages. This means that law enforcement officers may not be sued for damages under federal civil rights law for failure to administer a Miranda warning to suspects. The history of the Miranda decision itself dates back to 1963 to a man named Ernesto Miranda who was accused of raping and abducting an 18 year old woman, where after a brief interrogation Miranda confesses but then recants that confession. When the ACLU appealed his case on the basis of coercion, the Supreme Court overturned Miranda’s conviction. Miranda was later retried and convicted in October 1966. However, the foundation of Miranda rights and what Tekoh sued under as well, is the Klu Klux Klan act of 1871. The law was enacted during Reconstruction to give Black Americans a remedy for racial terrorism and state sanctioned abuses against officers who were either part of the crimes themselves or looked away when abuses took place. By rewriting the statute, there are now more exceptions for the police officers to evade accountability. Some of these exceptions include extending absolute immunity to all Customs and Border Protection agents, which traditionally only applied to prosecutors, judges and lawmakers.
Written and Anchored by ZainabRights, Produced by Fatima El-Zein
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