In Miami last week, seven men charged with rape were released with out trial; in Los Angeles, a confessed murderer under sentence of death went free. In Cincinnati, a silent robbery suspect was let go — and promptly committed another crime.
All of these troubling cases were direct results of the Supreme Court's sweeping decision in Miranda v. Arizona (TIME, June 24). Applying the Fifth Amendment guarantee against selfincrimination, the court ruled that every suspect must now be "warned prior to any questioning that he has the right to remain silent, and that anything he says can be used against him in a court of law, that he has the right to the presence of an attorney, and that if he cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for him prior to any questioning, if he so desires."
Damned Public. On one level many policemen agree with the court's decision. Chief Thomas O'Brien of Somerville, Mass., explains, "A guy who has been through the mill before is not going to talk anyway. Anyone who has had half an education knows his rights, and anyone connected with organized crime isn't going to talk either. So the only people this really protects are the ignorant, and that's not a bad thing."
Even so, Miranda has plunged many police into despair. Omaha's Public Safety Director Francis Lynch argues, "If we can't get to the truth, we can't solve cases. If we can't talk to the accused, whom can we talk to? The victim is often either dead or missing." Cincinnati Prosecutor Melvin Rueger complains, "Guilt or innocence is no longer the issue. The prime issue is whether a suspect was searched, interrogated or detained." Minneapolis Chief Calvin Hawkinson hits the "tone" of the ruling: "The emphasis of the court's decision is on individual rights and the public be damned, at a time when the crime rate is increasing."
In an effort to discover just what Miranda means, 900 policemen, prosecutors and lawyers gathered at the University of Michigan last week to hear a panel of experts deliver "an explanation—not a debate." For many police, it was still hard to take. After hearing a distinguished federal judge defend Miranda, Alex Kloka, an Ohio police chief, said hotly: "That man had tears in his eyes when he talked about the rights of criminals! How do the victims feel? How does a father feel when his daughter is raped, a husband when his wife is killed?" Judge John Van Voorhis of the New York Court of Appeals ended his own speech with the wry comment, "All I can say to the law-enforcement officers who are here is—I wish you well."