Everyone has heard the term Miranda Rights, whether that be when taking a law class, during the course of a television show, or perhaps through personal experience with their use, but what do these two words really mean, where did they come from and how to they apply to an individual's everyday life? The answers to this question are neither simple nor fully answered today, as challenges to Miranda Rights appear in courtrooms routinely. However, the basis for Miranda Rights can be traced back to a landmark case handed down from the Supreme Court of the United States in 1965 entitled Miranda v. Arizona. Ernesto Miranda was an immigrant from Mexico living in the Phoenix, Arizona area in 1963 when he was accused of …show more content…
The Canadian version of Miranda Rights is contained in the Canadian Charter of Rights statement number ten and reads "Everyone has the right on arrest or detention to be informed of the reasons therefore, to retain and instruct counsel without delay and to be informed of that right; and to have the validity of the detention determined by way of habeas corpus and to be released if the detention is not lawful" (Canadian Heritage).
A third example of Miranda Rights abroad is Taiwan, where amendments passed and taken effect in 2003 mimic the U.S. Miranda Rights. Brian L. Kennedy, an American attorney living in Taiwan observed that an "aspect of American law that is incorporated into the new Taiwanese criminal code is the Miranda Rights". Kennedy also observed that the Taiwanese "have incorporated a number of provisions to regulate how police question suspects and under what circumstances confessions will be excluded from evidence. Miranda Rights, as most television watchers know, are the right to remain silent when the police question you and the right to have an attorney present during police questioning. Both of these rights are included in the Taiwanese Miranda provisions." (Kennedy).
In each of these international examples, there is the expectation that all citizens should be advised of their rights upon