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Few events have altered the course of American legal practice more than the 1963 rape and kidnapping conviction of Ernesto Miranda. The primary evidence against him was a signed confession he made while in police custody. However, the grounds on which that confession was obtained began a heated debate on the rights of the accused and prompted a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision. On March 3, 1963, an 18-year-old girl was assailed by a man she described …

…be overstated. Denounced by presidents and law enforcement officials, the Miranda decision, a product of the Fifth Amendment, has withstood all attempts to overturn it. Framed originally to protect the poor and the uninformed, the practice of "reading the defendant his rights" has become a standard practice in every police department in the country, and it guarantees the accused the right to a lawyer and the right not to be compelled to testify against yourself.