On June 13, 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down Miranda v. Arizona — a decision that fundamentally changed the way police and law enforcement officials interact with suspects who are in custody.
It requires police officers to inform suspects that they have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions; that anything they say may be used against them in a court of law; that they have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during all questioning; and that if they cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided.
We get some insight into how the case wound up at the Supreme Court, and how the judicial process works at our nation’s highest court, with retired attorney Jim Hale who served as a law clerk for Chief Justice Earl Warren when Miranda was decided.
After his time at the Supreme Court Mr. Hale spent most of his career working for Target, where he served as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary until retiring in 2004. In the interest of transparency Jim Hale is currently the chair of the WGCU Public Media Advisory Board.
