YOU HAVE THE RIGHT....

Anybody who watches TV crime shows has heard about the Miranda Warning.  It's something that the police say to you in CUSTODIAL SITUATIONS that lets you know several things about your constitutional rights to respond to questions.  You have the right to remain silent.  Anything you cay can and will be used against you in a court of law.  You have the right to have an attorney present before and during questioning.  If you can not afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.  If you are standing on the street mouthing off to your homeys about how you robbed the First national Bank and have buried the money in your backyard and an officer hears you because he is walking his beat, the Miranda Warning does not apply. If you get pulled over for speeding and nervously blurt out, unsolicited,  that you were involved in the kidnapping of the Lindberg baby, your statements are admissible.  By the way, the name Miranda does not come from the famous latina singer-dancer, Carmen Miranda, but rather some guy in Arizona decades ago who got arrested and had a good lawyer.  One definition of a good lawyer is an attorney who can get a case of sodomy reduced to "following too closely from behind" a vehicular offense, but I digress.

Anyhow, I am doing a post on this subject because it is fun to watch TV and see this warning done wrong.  It is not as egregious as watching "Cleopatra" and seeing some spear carrier in the crowd wearing  Oakley Sunglasses and a Timex watch, or a plane flying overhead in a Civil War movie but it's fun all the same. Sometimes, if you know cars or guns you can see a 55 Chevy parked on the street in a movie that is a period piece from the 40s, or a 20th Century weapon in a 19th century cowboy movie.  You would think that with a multi-million dollar budget, historical accuracy might be helpful.  Then again, when I watch the Jay Leno show segment called "Jay Walking" where he interviews people on the street and asks them questions like "How many people on the Supreme Court?" and the answer given includes something about Diana Ross, that perhaps movie producers are right to save their money on fact checking because the average viewer won't notice. Just a thought.