I have always been a bit curious as to why people will allow the government/police erode our
freedoms in the name of �War on Terrorism� or �War on Drugs� whatever reason government
officials make to justify a greater level of intrusion into personal liberty. During the years right after the
Patriot Act I would always hear students say something like the following, �Well if you aren�t doing
anything illegal then what does it matter if the government wants to listen to your phone conversation
without a judicial warrant or do a search of your house (sneak and peek) without informing you that
they are doing so?� I am always taken aback. At a basic level I think that many Americans just
don�t understand that a constitutional right exists in order to protect the people from the abuses of
governmental officials. We must remember that the Framers and their contemporaries experienced
official abuses as colonist under the British Empire. Additionally, American history is littered with
examples of official abuses of power and such abuses continue today. For this assignment I want you
to watch three Youtube videos below and write a reflection paper on your impression of the advice the
law professor and police officer make regarding the right to �remain silent.� This right was
�discovered� by the US Supreme Court and articulated in the case of Miranda vs. Arizona, 1966
stemming from the Fifth Amendment right that no person �shall be compelled in any criminal case to
be a witness against himself.� Take his quiz!! 1. What is your general impression about these
videos? I need to see specific references to each of the three videos. Make sure that your general
impression focuses on the various rights discussed in the videos. Not just the stories told, the
methods used by police etc. You need to demonstrate that you understand the rights discussed in
each video and the goal of police when focusing on a suspect. (40 points for each video
discussion)Make your paper 500 words (1-2 pages). (50 points)
The right to remain silent
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The right to remain silent has long been considered to be one of the most important
fundamental right practiced by the suspect or the victim, however, this right as curtailed by
the criminal Justice system. The evidence there are presented change the rules which guide
on how the court is supposed to deal with a suspect if he decides to go silent, or the accused
in doing so, as forcing them to talk is seen as intimidation into their fundamental rights. The
right to remain silent is also known as the Miranda warning as it is traced back to the
Miranda v Arizona case which was also referred to with three other similar cases (Strauss).
During the Miranda case, the court held five to four decision in favor of Miranda. The
resulting rights were able to afford those that are detained or questioned by police thus
became popular with Miranda.
According to the Professors, Dwayne, all Americans have the right to remain silent,
the right to have an attorney, and to be provided by the court of law in case an attorney is not
presented (Anon). These rights are essential and should be read to an individual and those
that are detained before interrogation and when a suspect is taken the court. I feel that the
video the right to be silent should be supported at all costs. In most cases the police especially
the heads of investigation have a tendency of forcing a confession out of criminal suspects.
At times someone can be intimidated to accept issue that they might not have participated,
meaning that it is easy for one to be wrongly convicted. Also in some cases, witnesses are
lured into making statements that are not true, simply because the lawyer to the defendant
wants to ensure their client is innocent, or in other cases, the detective might be in a hurry to
close a case.
The right to silence was thus crucial as it provided innocent with a chance not to be
wrongly convicted. The video on labeled ‘don’t talk to cops Part I’ makes it clear about the
fifth amendment that no citizen is compelled to in any criminal case to be a witness against
himself’ (Anon). This is why in most cases a lawyer would advise their clients to make no
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statement in any circumstance when the police approach them. In most cases, the right to
remain silent is meant to protect the victims, and at times it extends to protect the criminal
from being judged too harshly. In any case, statements that people make when they under
distress usually appears to make a positive impact on an investigation.
In the other part of the documentary, Officer George Bruch accepts the fact that most
people who talk to the police have no idea of what they are supposed to tell the police. In
most cases, the main job of the police is to come with a probable cause, develop a case and
ensure conviction is made (Anon). The right to be silent thus prevent innocent people from
being convicted, since most people who are interrogated by the police say the wrong things
that eventually implicate them of the things they may not have been involved. Billy Murphy
also depicts this in the documentary on how to deal with the police where he agrees that
being silent is one of the best rules of dealing with the police (Murphy).
In conclusion, the right to be silent provided both innocent and suspected criminals a
chance to go through the due process of law as per the fourth amendments, on the right to be
protected under federal law.
Works Cited
Anon M. “Don’t Talk to Cops, Part 2.” YouTube, 10 June 2008,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=08fZQWjDVKE&feature=youtu.be.
Anon. “Don’t Talk to Cops, Part 1.” 10 June 2008,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=i8z7NC5sgik&feature=youtu.be.
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Murphy, B. “10 Rules for Dealing with Police (Full-Length).” 30 Apr. 2012,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4nQ_mFJV4I&feature=youtu.be.
Strauss, Marcy S. “The Sounds of Silence: Reconsidering the Invocation of the Right to
Remain Silent Under Miranda.” SSRN Electronic Journal, 2008.
