Agent Goldilocks
by digby
The Obama Administration is applying an old exception to the Miranda rule in a new way in order to interrogate terrorism suspects before reading them their rights, several experts tell TPMmuckraker, finding what one law professor calls a “middle ground” between those who want suspects put through the criminal justice system and those who believe they should be classified as “enemy combatants.”
Federal agents questioned both Faisal Shahzad, the man accused of planting a makeshift bomb in Times Square, and Umar Abdulmutallab, the failed Christmas Day bomber, under the so-called public safety exception to the Miranda rule for substantial periods before informing the men of their right to remain silent, and to an attorney.
Information gleaned during questioning under the public safety exception — in which police “ask questions reasonably prompted by a concern for the public safety,” according to the 1984 Supreme Court case that recognized the exception — is admissible at trial.
“It looks like to me they’re trying to find this middle ground between saying the Constitution applies with full force and the Constitution doesn’t apply,” says Sam Kamin, a professor of criminal law and procedure at Sturm College of Law in Denver who has written about terrorism interrogations. “It seems to be a deliberate strategy.”
The 5th and 6th amendments still exist whether or not the cops mirandize these suspects. Al;l that happen if they fail to properly inform them of their rights, it jeopardizes the cases in court. The government doesn’t get to decide a “middle ground” between when the Constitution does and doesn’t apply. At least not yet.
Has anyone seen “In The Name Of The Father” lately?
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