Monday, February 7, 2011
A Violation of the First Amendment, Miranda Rights, or Both?
Hello everyone. I'd like you to take a look at this video link (the title) of a man getting arrested while speaking out at a public forum. Although a bit loud, he showed no signs of aggression or intent to harm anyone, yet police arrested him on the spot. According to the MSBA, the definition of an arrest is "the taking, seizing or detaining of an individual by touching or putting hands on a person or taking action that indicates an intention to take the individual into custody and subjects him or her to the control and will of the person making the arrest." The man constantly asked what he was being arrested for and was denied of the information which should've been given as per his Miranda Rights. To me this was an illegal arrest, and he had an absolute freedom of speech that was violated, but what do you guys think?
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5 comments:
That man was up there putting thr president down it sounded like. He was also acting a bit rowdy when he was talking. The minute he was raised his book there was no reasoning with him, he didn't sound rational. The more time they gave him to talk the more aggressive he came across. His body language was definitely aggressive. The Police could have been just taking him outside that does not necessarily mean getting arrested. Even when cops put handcuffs you that doesn't mean they are arresting you. On top of that he was resisting to the cops. And the Florida Police were worried about the safety of the audience. If I was in the audience I would sure he think he is a weirdo. People are weird out there, you never know he could have pulled out a gun or something.
I'm with Trevor. I think that tazing him was excessive. However, I do not think that his rights were violated because of the following reasons: That was a private event, and as a private event, they had a right to censor him. Furthermore, he was clearly resisting arrest. It was evident that he tried to evade the cops and such. It was disappointing to see such an eloquent and educated young man fall prey to the young-and-untrained-activist syndrome. Because in civil disobedience protests, such as his, you DO NOT resist arrest. You let the cops pretend to cuff you and you get out and you spend at most a few hours in jail and you're let go without being charged with anything. How do I know this? Because this is the kind of stuff I plan for fun ;) This boy did NOT know what he was doing. And too bad. He could have proven to be a great activist.
I agree with the two comments posted above. I would like to add that I think the purpose of the Miranda Rights is to prevent the courts from using evidence retrieved while the detained are unaware of their rights. It doesn't seem that there is "evidence" that will be used against this young man in a criminal trial, and therefore his Miranda Rights were not violated. The Miranda Rights only apply to people who are about to be detained and interrogated, if I am not mistaken.
He did have a right to express his opinion, which apparently was no problem but the police seemed to have a problem with it. I'll admit he did get a little out of control and in addition, by resisting arrest, the police did have a right to take action but not by using a taser. That's too far in my opinion.
Did the police say anything to the guy when arresting him? I couldn't hear anything over the guy yelling in the video. If the police did not inform the guy of his rights and what he was doing wrong, then I agree with Michael and this arrest was violating at least his Miranda rights. I am not 100% positive, but Peter, I think that the police are supposed to read you your rights even if you are not going to be interrogated because what you say at the arrest CAN be used against you in a court of law. Still, that guy was not wise to resist the police.
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