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St. Thomas Law Review

First Page

461

Document Type

Article

Abstract

This Article will proceed in three stages. Part I will provide the historical, social, and political backdrop to the Miranda opinion. It will discuss the pragmatic basis for the path that the Court chose to follow in Miranda. Part II will underscore the attempts to overrule Miranda and the Court's almost instant departure from its doctrinal foundation. In doing so, the argument is that the Court's retreat can be viewed in large measure as a reaction to the negative response the opinion engendered, both politically and socially. It also can be viewed as the logical outcome of the Court's need to respond to socio-political realities in fashioning the doctrine. Part III will show how Miranda is no longer viable, even as a symbol or as a bright-line alternative to the much maligned voluntariness test. Finally, in examining potential alternatives to Miranda, this Article will demonstrate that neither videotaping of confessions nor truncated warnings provide satisfactory antidotes to Miranda's current flaws.

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