NACDL - Coalition Letter to AG Holder on Public Safety Exception to Miranda in Terrorism Cases (May 2010)

Coalition Letter to AG Holder on Public Safety Exception to Miranda in Terrorism Cases (May 2010)

We write to express our concern about your recent call to restrict the constitutional rights of individuals in the United States suspected of terrorist activity by seeking to codify or expand the “public safety exception” to Miranda v. Arizona. Current law provides ample flexibility to protect the public against imminent terrorist threats while still permitting the use of statements made by the accused in a criminal prosecution. Weakening Miranda would undercut our fundamental Fifth Amendment rights for no perceptible gain.