Miranda Rights1)
When you watch an American film or TV play,you notice that while a policeman or a lieutenant2) is cuffing a suspect he is saying something or reading something from a piece of paper to him.What he is saying or reading is called Miranda Rights.
Under the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America a person accused of a crime has the right to the assistance of an attorney3).A suspect has the priviledge4) against self incrimination5).This means that a suspect has the right to remain silent and cannot be forced to testify against himself.
For many years the Supreme Court6) held that a confession was not admissible as evidence if it was not voluntary and trustworthy.This meant that the use of physical force,torture7),threats,or other techniques that could force an innocent person to confess was prohibited.Later,in the case of Escobedov.Illinois,the Supreme Court said that even a voluntary confession was inadmissible as evidence if it was obtained after denying the defendant' s request to talk with an attorney.While some defendants might ask for an attorney,other people might not be aware o f their right to remain silent or of their right to have a lawyer present during questioning.In 1966,the Supreme Court was presented with such a situation in the case of Mirandav.Arizona.
Emesto Miranda was accused of kidnap ping and raping an eighteen-year-old girl near Phoenix,Arizona.The girl claimed she was on her way home from work when a man grabbed her,threw her into the back seat of a car,and raped her.Ten days later Miranda was arrested,placed in a lineup,and identified by the girl as her attacker.The police then took Miranda into an interrogation8)room and questioned him for two hours.At the end of the two hours,the officers emerged with a written and signed confession.This confession was used as evidence at trial,and Miranda was found guilty.Miranda later appealed to the U.S.Supreme Court,arguing that he had not been warned of his right to remain silent and that he had been deprived of his right to counsel.Miranda did not suggest that his confession was false or brought about by coercion,but rather that he would not have confessed if he had been advised of his right to remain silent or of his right to an attorney.
After considering all the arguments,the Supreme Court ruled that Miranda's confession could not be used at trial because it was obtained without informing Miranda of his constitutional rights.As a result of this case,police are now required to inform persons accused of a crime of the following Miranda rights before questioning begins:
You have the right to remain silent.Anything you say can be used against you in court.
You have the right to a lawyer and to have one present while you are being questioned.
If you cannot afford a lawyer,one will be appointed for you before any questioning begins.
米蘭達權利
看美國電影或電視劇時,你們注意到警察或警官將手銬銬住嫌疑犯時,一邊念念有詞,或把一張小紙片上的話念給他聽。他所說的或讀的叫做米蘭達權利。
根據《美利堅合眾國憲法第6修正案》,被控犯罪的人有權取得律師的協(xié)助。嫌疑犯享有不致因自己的供詞、答詞而受牽連的權利。這意味嫌疑犯有權保持沉默,不能強迫他提供對自己不利的供詞。
多年來最高法院認為如果供詞不是出于自愿和信得過的,不能接受它為證詞。這意味著禁止使用膂力、酷刑、威脅或其他能迫使無辜者認罪的方法。后來,最高法院審理埃斯科比多控告伊利諾州一案時說,如果口供是在剝奪被告與律師談話的要求之后取得的,即使供詞是出于自愿,也不能接受為證詞。有的被告可能要求找律師,其他人可能不知道有保持沉默或在質問期間可有律師在場的權利。1966年最高法院審理米蘭達控告亞利桑那州一案時就曾遇到過這種情況。
埃曼斯托·米蘭達被控告于亞利桑那州菲尼克斯城附近綁架并強奸一18歲的姑娘。那姑娘稱下班回家路上有個男人抓住她,把她扔在汽車后座上奸污了她。10天之后米蘭達被捕,在一排嫌疑犯中被受害者辨認出。然后警察把他帶進審問室,連續(xù)審問了兩個小時。審問結束后,警官們從審問室出來,手上拿著有米蘭達簽字的書面供詞。開庭時供詞用做證詞,米蘭達被判為有罪。后來米蘭達上訴美國最高法院,根據是警方沒有宣讀他有保持沉默的權利,并剝奪他取得律師協(xié)助的權利。米蘭達并未表示供詞是編造的,或是在壓力下被迫認罪,而是說明如果事先告訴他有保持沉默和取得律師協(xié)助的權利,他本來是不會認罪的。
考慮了種種論證,最高法院裁決米蘭達的供詞在法庭審判時無效,因為那是在未告知他享有憲法規(guī)定的權利的情況下取得的。由于這一案例的結果,警方必須在審問前向被控告犯罪的人宣讀以下的米蘭達權利:
你有權保持沉默。你說的一切可在法庭上用做對你不利的供詞;
你有權找律師;審問時可有律師在場;
你如果沒錢請律師,任何審問開始前可為你指定一位律師。
NOTE 注釋:
Miranda Rights [mi5rAndE raits] 米蘭達原則的與美國最高法院要求被逮捕的人被告知其有權保持沉默并有權請辯護人的決定有關的
lieutenant [lef5tenEnt; le5tenEnt; lju:5tenEnt] n. 警官,官員
attorney [E5tE:ni] n. <美>律師, (業(yè)務或法律事務上的)代理人
privilege [5privilidV] n. 特權, 特別待遇, 基本公民權力
incriminate [in5krimi7neit] n. 連累, 控告
Supreme Court 最高法院
torture [5tC:tFE] n. 折磨, 痛苦, 拷問, 拷打
interrogation [in7terE5^eiFEn] n. 審問, 問號