HR1072 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1072 LRB099 20818 RLC 45554 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Police interrogation raises challenging legal questions because of the important but competing interests these practices implicate; and

WHEREAS, Confessions by guilty suspects aid the police in solving crimes and promoting public safety; but the desire to secure a confession can invite abusive police practices, and these practices can undermine valued individual rights, and even prompt innocent persons to confess; and

WHEREAS, The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution made applicable to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment provides that (n)o person shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself (or herself); and

WHEREAS, June 13, 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark United States Supreme Court decision of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966); and

WHEREAS, The decision holds that when an individual is taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his or her freedom by the authorities in any significant way and is subjected to questioning, he or she must be warned prior to any questioning that he or she has the right to remain silent, that anything he or she says can be used against him or her in a court of law, that he or she has the right to the presence of an attorney during police questioning, and that if he or she cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed for him or her prior to any questioning if he or she so desires and that he or she must be given the opportunity to exercise these rights throughout the interrogation; after the warnings have been given, and the opportunity afforded him or her, the individual may knowingly and intelligently waive these rights and agree to answer questions or make a statement; but unless and until the warnings and waiver are demonstrated by the prosecution at trial, no evidence obtained as a result of interrogation can be used against him or her; and

WHEREAS, Despite some limitations placed on the applicability of the Miranda decision by the United States Supreme Court over the past 50 years, the ruling remains a significant constitutional decision in our system of criminal justice; and

WHEREAS, The Miranda ruling checks the power of police to coerce their way to a confession from the suspect; and

WHEREAS, The Miranda ruling reinforces the fundamental principle that all individuals retain critical rights when in police custody, and that police must work within these rights when interrogating a suspect; and

WHEREAS, This principle reinforces our nation's commitment to the rule of law, even when the State is pursuing interests as important as criminal justice and public safety; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we celebrate the landmark 1966 United States Supreme Court decision of Miranda v. Arizona.