In Techdirt, Mike Masnick explains why this Obama administration innovation should not be perpetuated:
- Suspending basic rights and due process out of fear is exactly the kind of thing that people attacking the US want to see. Showing that we can’t live up to our most basic rights and principles in the face of a terrorist attack gives those who hate us that much more incentive to keep going. It’s not just a sign of weakness, but an encouragement for those who seek to undermine our society. In fact, it takes a step in that very direction by showing that the government is willing to throw out the rules and principles when it gets a little scared by a teenager.
- The slippery slope here is steep and extremely slick. There are no rules on when the DOJ can suddenly ignore Miranda. It gets to decide by itself. This is an organization with a long history of abusing its power, now allowed to wipe out one of the key protections for those they’re arresting, whenever it sees fit. The whole point of the ruling in Miranda is that it should not be up to law enforcement. A person’s rights are their rights.
- The part that really gets me: if anything, this opens up a really, really stupid line of defense for Dzokhar Tsarnaev if he ever faces a criminal trial. His lawyers will undoubtedly claim that the arrest and interrogation was unconstitutional due to the lack of (or delay in) Miranda rights. Why even open up that possibility of a defense for him?
- The guy has lived in the US for many years — chances are he actually knows the fact that he has the right to refuse to speak. So, we’re violating our principles, basic Constitutional due process, and opening up a massive opening for a defense, to avoid telling him something he likely already knows.
It’s been said before and it’ll be said again, but turning ourselves into a paranoid police state without basic rights means that those who attack us are winning. We should be better than that, and it’s a shame that our leaders have no problem confirming for the rest of the world that we’re not. What a shame.
Whether or not it is a good idea is an independent issue from the motivations of Chechen jihadis.
On a separate note, Chechen jihadis could not care less about Miranda “rights”.
Comment by Flea — April 22, 2013 @ 10:33
Agreed, it’s independent of the Boston bombers’ motivations. But most of us didn’t become aware that the Obama administration had created an exemption to the Miranda Rights until it was discussed in the media last week. It apparently took six months for the very first media notice of the new exemption, but this is the first time it’s gotten wide coverage.
And it’s still a really, really stupid idea.
Comment by Nicholas — April 22, 2013 @ 12:52