Wednesday, May 27, 2009

FYI

According to an article The Wall Street Journal website, the Supreme Court overturned the ruling that says the police cannot interrogate a person without the presence of an attorney. Now, my first reaction was "That's some Bull@#$^" because I'm fairly certain that there are officers who do some underhanded things to get a confession (not because I watch police dramas and movies, but because its human nature). My next reaction was "Okay, so what, you can interrogate me all you want to, but I don't have to say anything and I'm not confessing to something I did not do!" Now, I think that my final reaction to this is a mixture of the two. This is bull@#$% because there are people who, after intense bullying and threatening, will confess to crimes they did not commit, and the original ruling gave them a little protection against that. Now, I'm not naive enough to believe that true criminals find protection from that as well, but punishing the innocent does not seem fair to me. So, what can be done? I'm not sure, but I don't think that the president can overturn the Court's decision, so petitioning him maybe fruitless. Perhaps I can contact my state's representatives and they could help in some way? I was never a fan of my Political Science class, so I'm not very knowledgeable on the steps one can, and should, take in a situation such as this. But there has to be something that can be done...

Your thoughts on this?

2 comments:

  1. I read that story in the WSJ online yesterday and I was surprised at first. But then after reading the story of the guy who the case was centered around. I think it comes down to people knowing their rights. In other words, though this ruling stands it doesn't infringe on your %th Amendment right; yes, in spite of the ruling, you do not have to speak to the cops. I suggest that more people become acquainted in this regard. I did a post like this recently, and I think I need to re-up that point in illustrating this story.

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  2. Hi RiPPa,

    You're absolutely right! We have to stay informed on our rights...best believe I will plead the 5th...

    This whole thing got me thinking about that Chappelle Show episode when Dave was in the courtroom and he kept pleading the 5th ammendment...lol...1-2-3-4- FIFTH!!!

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