Assignment:
Reading the following chapter are given below is:
Constitutional Law's Rise: Three Roads Not Taken
Based upon and the class lecture, describe two policies, laws and/or cases from the Reform Era (e.g. Warren Court) that were intended to address criminal justice issues of that time frame. Either explain how these policies have resulted in unintended consequences (as explained by the author), or explain why the status quo is working acceptably while arguing against the criticisms of the author.
An example of an unintended consequence is the Miranda warning, which was designed to prevent coercive and protracted interrogations by police of uninformed suspects in custody. The results, according the author, is that police learned to side-step Miranda v. Arizona (1966) by interviewing suspects out of custody and or using slick sales techniques to induce rights waivers. The results: poor (and uninformed) people accused of committing crimes make incriminating statements and get convicted. Rich (and informed) ones invoke their rights to remain silent and have a better chance of avoiding prosecution; police and prosecutors often rely on these incriminating statements to solve and ultimately win cases.
Other examples include plea bargaining, searches and warrants (exclusionary rule), bail, and the requirement of defense attorneys. There were other examples in the chapters and lecture as well.