| Summary: | In all police arrests, the accused has the right to remain silent and to be provided with an attorney before and during questioning. He or she must also be informed of these rights, in order to exercise the 'privilege against self-incrimination.' The provision of these rights is a result of fairly recent Supreme Court decisions based on the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the Constitution. Although the purpose of these rulings is to aid suspects who may be poor, inexperienced or ignorant of the law, some people argue that these rulings provide a kind of protection for the professional criminal as well. In examining these two key Supreme Court decisions, this program explores an issue that remains a subject of controversy today: balancing the fight of the accused with those of society.
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