Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

The Patriot Act does not affect Miranda. Miranda is about a constitutional right. The Patriot Act is a collection of statutes. The Constitution trumps statutes every time.

Note that, even before the Patriot Act, there were exceptions to the Miranda rule. Those exceptions will sometimes apply to interrogations in Patriot Act cases. But they would have applied to those interrogations even without the Act.

Actually, Miranda warnings are not in the Constitution either. They were judicially created by the United States Supreme Court in Miranda v. Arizona.

The big problem with Miranda warnings is the myth created by television and movies. Most lay people think that Miranda warnings have to be given when a person is arrested, otherwise the charges can be dismissed. That isn't true at all. Miranda warnings are only required to be given prior to custodial interrogation by the police. Police can arrest a person without the warnings and place them in a cell until they are arraigned on charges.

With respect to the Patriot Act, I couldn't even begin to give you an intelligent answer unless I knew the specifics of your question.

Mr. Roach is right, of course, that the constitution doesn't mention Miranda warnings. I didn't say that it does. But they are still a constitutional requirement which no legislation can change. That they were announced by the Supreme Court does not change this result.

Mr. Roach is also right that the public widely misunderstands the Miranda rule.