- Feb 7, 2004
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THEY TAKING YOUR RIGHTS AWAY DAY BY DAY!!!
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seemed worried Wednesday about letting prosecutors use a suspect's pre-Miranda silence against them in court.
The justices heard an appeal from Genovevo Salinas, who was convicted in a 1992 murder. During police questioning, and before he was arrested or read his Miranda rights, Salinas did not answer when asked if a shotgun he had access to would match up with the murder weapon. Prosecutors in Texas used his silence to convict him of murder, saying it demonstrated guilt.
Salinas appealed, saying his Fifth Amendment rights to stay silent should have kept lawyers from using his silence against him in court. Texas courts disagreed, saying pre-Miranda silence is not protected from use by prosecutors by the Constitution.
The court is reviewing that decision. Salinas' lawyer Jeffrey Fisher called prosecutors' desire to tell juries' about a suspect's silence "a trap for the unwary," with most Americans thinking they have a right to remain silent when confron
http://news.yahoo.com/court-worried-pre-miranda-silence-171502976.html
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court seemed worried Wednesday about letting prosecutors use a suspect's pre-Miranda silence against them in court.
The justices heard an appeal from Genovevo Salinas, who was convicted in a 1992 murder. During police questioning, and before he was arrested or read his Miranda rights, Salinas did not answer when asked if a shotgun he had access to would match up with the murder weapon. Prosecutors in Texas used his silence to convict him of murder, saying it demonstrated guilt.
Salinas appealed, saying his Fifth Amendment rights to stay silent should have kept lawyers from using his silence against him in court. Texas courts disagreed, saying pre-Miranda silence is not protected from use by prosecutors by the Constitution.
The court is reviewing that decision. Salinas' lawyer Jeffrey Fisher called prosecutors' desire to tell juries' about a suspect's silence "a trap for the unwary," with most Americans thinking they have a right to remain silent when confron
http://news.yahoo.com/court-worried-pre-miranda-silence-171502976.html