Rights of Suspects

Ex Parte Milligan

The Supreme Court upholds the right of citizens to due process of law, even in times of war.

Weeks v. United States

Supreme Court rules that evidence obtained in violation of a person’s constitutional rights must be excluded from federal trials

Powell v. Alabama

Supreme Court rules that the right to counsel is an essential part of due process for poor defendants whenever lack of counsel would result in an unfair trial. This decision overturns the convictions of nine black youths who had been accused of raping two white women because the defendants, too poor to hire a lawyer had not received adequate legal assistance

Francis v. Resweber

Supreme Court rules that a convicted murderer whose execution by electric chair failed to kill him could be electrocuted again. The Court decides that repeated attempts at execution do not violate the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishments

Mapp v. Ohio

Supreme Court overturns the conviction of a woman because police had searched her house without a warrant and found evidence they later used against her. The Court rules, for the first time, that the Fourth Amendment’s guarantee against unreasonable searches applies to the state governments as well as the federal

Gideon v. Wainwright

Supreme Court rules that in all criminal cases, defendants who are too poor to afford a lawyer must be provided with an attorney as part of their due process rights

Escobedo v. Illinois

Supreme Court extends the Sixth Amendment’s right to counsel to include police interrogations as well as trials

Miranda v. Arizona

Supreme Court rules that police officers are required to inform suspects of their rights, such as the right to remain silent and the right to consult a lawyer, as part of the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee that no person shall be compelled to be a witness against himself

Sheppard v. Maxwell

Supreme Court reverses a murder conviction because hostile news coverage and publicity surrounding the trial prejudiced the jury and made a fair trial impossible. The Court rules that this trial failed to meet the constitutional standard of a trial by an impartial jury

In re Gault

Supreme Court establishes that juvenile defendants have certain rights, such as the right to legal counsel, that cannot be taken away because of age

Benton v. Maryland

Supreme Court rules that the Fifth Amendment’s protection against double jeopardy is applicable to state governments through the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment