The Rights of the Accused

The Supreme Court Rethinks Rights.

One of the key targets of critics of the Supreme Court was the rights granted to accused criminals. President Nixon looked to eliminate or reduce those rights in appointing Warren Burger as chief justice to replace Earl Warren. However, the Burger Court did not revoke the rights granted by the Warren Court. Nor did it eliminate the exclusionary rule, which prohibited illegally obtained evidence from being used in trying the accused. The Court's changes were much more limited. For example, the Court decided that even if an accused person had not been read his Miranda rights, a statement he made could be used to counter his in-court testimony. That was a retreat from the principle that only if one's rights had been read to him could the evidence be used in courts. But the Court had not completely overturned the requirement that the police read an accused person his or her rights. The votes in these...