Home > Great American Court Cases > Pennsylvania v. Muniz

Legal Citation: 496 U.S. 582 (1990)

Petitioner
State of Pennsylvania

Respondent
Inocencio Muniz

Petitioner's Claim
That videotaped evidence should not be suppressed although Miranda warnings were not given.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner
J. Michael Eakin

Chief Lawyer for Respondent
Richard F. Maffett, Jr.

Justices for the Court
Harry A. Blackmun, William J. Brennan, Jr. (writing for the Court), Anthony M. Kennedy, Sandra Day O'Connor, William H. Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, John Paul Stevens, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting
Thurgood Marshall

Place
Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision
18 June 1990

Decision
The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination relates only to evidence of a testimonial or communicative nature, not physical evidence.