What if the Police Fail to Advise Me of My Miranda Rights?

When police officers question a suspect in custody without first giving the Miranda warning, any statement or confession made is presumed to be involuntary, and cannot be used against the suspect in any criminal case. Any evidence discovered as a result of that statement or confession will likely also be thrown out of the case.

For example, suppose Dan is arrested and, without being read his Miranda rights, is questioned by police officers about a bank robbery. Unaware that he has the right to remain silent, Dan confesses to committing the robbery and tells the police that the money is buried in his backyard. Acting on this information, the police dig up the money. When Dan's attorney challenges the confession in court, the judge will likely find it unlawful. This means that, not only will the confession be thrown out of the case against Dan, but so will the money itself, because it was discovered solely as a result of the unlawful confession.

" Search and Seizure" and the Fourth Amendment

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects personal privacy, and every citizen's right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion into their persons, homes, businesses, and property, whether through police stops of citizens on the street, arrests, or searches of homes and businesses. Lawmakers and the courts have put in place legal safeguards to ensure that law enforcement officers interfere with individuals' Fourth Amendment rights only under limited circumstances, and through specific methods.

What Does the Fourth Amendment Protect?

In the criminal law realm, Fourth Amendment " search and seizure" protections extend to:

• A law enforcement officer's physical apprehension or " seizure" of a person, by way of a stop or arrest; and

• Police searches of places and items in which an individual has a legitimate expectation of privacy — his or her person, clothing, purse, luggage, vehicle, house, apartment, hotel room, and place of business, to name a few examples.

The Fourth Amendment provides safeguards to individuals during searches and detentions, and prevents unlawfully seized items from being used as evidence in criminal cases. The degree of protection available in a particular case depends on the nature of the detention or arrest, the characteristics of the place searched, and the circumstances under which the search takes place.

When Does the Fourth Amendment Apply?

The legal standards derived from the Fourth Amendment provide constitutional protection to individuals in the following situations, among others:

• An individual is stopped for police questioning while walking down the street.

• An individual is pulled over for a minor traffic infraction, and the police officer searches the vehicle's trunk.

• An individual is arrested.

• Police officers enter an individual's house to place him or her under arrest.

• Police officers enter an individual's apartment to search for evidence of
crime.

• Police officers enter a corporation's place of business to search for evidence of crime.

• Police officers confiscate an individual's vehicle or personal property and place it under police control.

 

TEXT 25

 

Congress – What Is It?

 

The United States Congress differs from a parliament chiefly in the fact that it does not contain the executive. The President and his Cabinet are not members of the House, as the Prime Minister and his Cabinet are in England. The Congress cannot peremptorily ask a question of the President except in an impeachment proceeding; and if it refuses to pass an Administration bill, there is no " crisis". The President in that case does not resign; nor does he dissolve Congress and force a new election.

In the United States Government, the people are represented in one way by the Congress and in another by the President. Each has the right and the means to appeal directly to the people for support against the other, and they do. The effect is that the struggle between the Executive and Congress varies between open hostilities and armed truce, even when the President's party is in control of Congress. Another situation, that cannot occur in a parliament, arises when the people choose a President of one party and a Congress of another, putting the executive and the legislative branches automatically in opposition to each other.

The United States Congress is therefore more irresponsible than a parliament, for the member of the President's party can vote against an Administration proposal without voting to have the President resign. This lack of responsibility encourages demagogues in Congress to play for headlines, since the party in power does not feel that strict discipline is a matter of life and death.

One effect of the separation of powers is that the Senate is as important a body as the House. In other countries there is a tendency for the lower house, since it controls the executive, to assume all the power, letting the upper house live on as a debating society of elder statesmen.

The tradition of a two-chambered legislature is deeply rooted in American political life. The colonial governments had two chambers and so do all the States except Nebraska. But the principal reason that no one can conceive of any movement toward a one-chamber Congress is that the United States is still a Federal Union of large and small States.

The fact that all bills have to pass two different bodies does not cause delay in emergencies when the people are united in favor of following the President's leadership. But on ordinary matters in ordinary times, legislation is slow, hearings are duplicated, and an opposition has advantages over the proposition.

The Senate and the House of Representatives differ in their composition and attitude, even though the Constitution has been amended to shift the election of senators from the State legislatures to the plain voters. The senators average a few years older than the congressmen. Congressmen often move up into the Senate, but few ex-senators have ever run for the House. The senators are more distinguished by their office because there are only 100 of them while there are 435 congressmen. A seat in the Senate has a high publicity value which can be used for good or ill purposes.

 

TEXT 26

 

How to write a will

 

Full legal name:

Do not use any nicknames or abbreviations. The name must be your legal name, not your social name.

Social Security Number:

Although not mandatory, a social security number will help to positively identify the document as your Last Will and Testament.

City where you reside:

State where you reside:

Marital Status:

Spouse Name:

Enter your spouse's full legal name. Do not use nicknames or your spouse's social name. For example, use " Mary B. Doe" not " Mrs. John Doe".

Do you have any children?

Do you want to give specific items of your property or specific amounts of cash to any individual or organization?

You may give specific gifts, also called " specific bequests, " of personal property, real property, and specific amounts of cash to people or organizations.

How many persons or organizations do you want to receive your residuary estate?

Your residuary estate is all the property left in your estate after you've made any specific gifts. You must name a residuary beneficiary for your estate.

Name of the person or organization you want to receive the residuary estate:

It is helpful to precede the name of a residuary beneficiary with a brief description of your relationship. [Example: my friend, Jack Smith]

How many alternate beneficiaries would you like to specify?

Your alternate choice will receive this portion of your residuary estate only if your named residuary beneficiary choice fails to survive you by 30 days.

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