Tell Attorney General Holder to Keep His Hands Off the Miranda Rule

In the wake of the attempted bombing in Times Square in May 2010—as after other terrorism attempts—there have been misguided calls to weaken our constitutional rights, including a call to loosen the Miranda rule.

Last week, Attorney General Eric Holder told the House Judiciary Committee that the administration wants to "modernize" and "clarify" Miranda warnings for terrorism suspects. Miranda warnings—ruled by the U.S. Supreme Court to be a constitutional right—are used to inform suspects of their rights during interrogation.

There is no evidence that the Miranda requirement has obstructed the government from obtaining valuable information and intelligence from suspected terrorists.

Both Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, who was caught on a Detroit-bound plane with explosives in his underwear, and Faisal Shahzad, arrested for trying to bomb Times Square with a car full of explosives, were caught, questioned, and Mirandized. Crucially, both cooperated with law enforcement authorities both before and after they were read their Miranda rights.

The ACLU thinks changes to Miranda are both threatening to our criminal justice system and entirely unnecessary. This week, we sent a letter to Holder asking him to leave Miranda alone. And we're not the only ones who think this is a bad idea; three former FBI agents also sent a letter to Holder, writing:

"As professional interrogators who have spent decades questioning accused criminals—including spies and terrorists—we are writing to make clear that interrogators can do their job using the existing Miranda rules. No changes are necessary. In fact, changes might do more harm than good."

>> Take action: Send a message to Attorney General Holder. Tell him to keep his hands off the Miranda rule!