OPINION: Law Day 2016 focuses on Miranda

Every year since 1958, the nation has marked Law Day on May 1. Law Day provides an opportunity for us to commemorate our national ideals of liberty, justice, and equality under the law and affords us an opportunity to rededicate ourselves to those great principles.

The American Bar Association has designated the theme of this Law Day as “Miranda: More than Words” to mark the 50th anniversary of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Miranda v. Arizona.

In Miranda, the court held that law-enforcement personnel must advise a suspect of his or her rights in order to use statements made during a custodial interrogation in a later criminal proceeding. As a result of this case, police developed the Miranda warning, which lets people questioned by police know of their constitutional rights to refrain from speaking to police and to consult an attorney.

The Miranda warning has become so ingrained in our popular culture and consciousness that many of us know all or some of its words, starting with, “You have the right to remain silent.” Yet, as the ABA Law Day theme implies, there is much more to Miranda than the words of the warning; it has become a living symbol of the importance of procedural fairness and equal justice under the law in our criminal justice system.

Unfortunately, as a nation, many challenges still remain in effectuating our national pledge of “justice for all,” including dealing with racial disparities in the justice system, disproportionate sentencing, and inadequately funded public-defense systems. We can and must do better; the Constitution and our cherished national principles demand it.

This Law Day, let us reflect on the importance of our constitutional rights, promote public awareness and understanding of those rights, and commit ourselves to the work that remains to be done in ensuring that we have a criminal-justice system that is fair for all Americans.

Matt Thiel, a Missoula attorney, is president of the State Bar of Montana.