NCJ Number
83688
Date Published
1982
Length
451 pages
Annotation
Eight articles dating from the late 1960's to the 1980's reflect upon important developments in Federal constitutional law pertaining to defendants' rights in State criminal procedures. Topics include search and seizure, confessions, lineups, and police-court relations.
Abstract
An essay questions the courts' handling of cases involving police behavior and suggests redefining the police department as an administrative agency with its own rulemaking powers. A review of U.S. Supreme Court achievements under Earl Warren highlights the dramatic alterations in criminal justice procedures that forced greater compliance with constitutional protection; the subsequent article refutes the myth that the Burger Court has attempted to subvert the achievements of the Warren years. Addressing the 'stop and frisk' issue, an essay analyzes basic fourth amendment questions in Terry v. Ohio, Sibron v. New York, and Peters v. New York, reviewing proposals to regulate 'street encounters,' and surveying possible problems arising from the validation of the frisk in the Terry case. A study of the statutory foundations of the modern electronic eavesdropping law reveals complex fourth amendment problems. A refutation of attacks made by the dissenting justices in the Miranda decision argues that applying the fifth amendment's privilege against self-incrimination to pretrial interrogation comports more closely to the amendment's purposes than other applications even more firmly established, such as use of privilege in congressional hearings. A discussion of Rhode Island v. Innis and United States v. Henry reveals the Supreme Court still grappling with the difficult issue of indirect police efforts to elicit incriminating statements. The final essay examines whether any constitutional safeguards remain against the danger of convicting the innocent, with reference to the cases of Kirby v. Illinois, United States v. Ash, and Neil v. Biggers. All essays contain extensive notes.