Paul Scicchitano
Newsmax
21 Apr 2013
Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz tells Newsmax that federal investigators will be on “shaky constitutional grounds” if they try to interrogate the surviving Boston Marathon bombing suspect without first reading him his Miranda rights, and that there is no “absolutely” no grounds to hold the suspect as an enemy combatant.
Speaking in an exclusive interview, Dershowitz said that, while he personally likes Sens. Lindsey Graham and John McCain, “they absolutely should go back to school and study their constitutional law” if they persist in calling for 19-year-old terror suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to be held as an enemy combatant…
…He said that he does not believe that the public safety exception does not pertain in this case and any statements the suspect makes would probably be ruled inadmissible.
“In this case the two defendants have been apprehended. One is dead. The other is under surveillance. They have access to his home. They have access to all of the explosives,” Dershowitz said. “The police chief has said there’s no continuing danger. What they’re seeking is information — intelligence information — and the public safety exception simply doesn’t apply to that.” …
…He added that “this is the worst possible case for seeking any kind of combatant status” as some lawmakers have requested…
Read the entire article at Newsmax.
Related: via Instapundit:
IT’S NOT LIKE TV: Orin Kerr: Tsarnaev and Miranda Rights. “A lot of people assume that the police are required to read a suspect his Miranda rights upon arrest. That is, they assume that one of a person’s rights is the right to be read their rights. It often happens that way on Law & Order, but that’s not what the law actually requires.”
Plus: “If Tsarnaev is going to be charged in federal court, the more pressing limit on his interrogation may be the limits imposed by Rule 5 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.”
Not Mirandizing Terror Suspect Preserves Interrogation Option
Update: The Deepening Color of Blur in This Country. An excellent article at Babalú Blog
Update 2: Blogger Rob Port: “I didn’t realize our constitutional rights came with a sliding scale which dictates when they do and do not kick in based on the severity of the crime.” Senator Lindsey Graham: Tsarnaev’s Status As Citizen Doesn’t Protect Him From The “Laws Of War”
Update 3: Judge Napolitano: ‘Dangerous to Start Talking About Suspending Constitutional Liberties’
In a heated debate with Stuart Varney, Napolitano argues the alleged Boston bomber must be granted his rights under the Constitution.
