The Supreme Court and Criminal Procedure

This fascinating new work focuses on the dramatic transformation of criminal justice since the end of World War II. The decisions handed down by the Supreme Court during the tenure of Chief Justice Earl Warren (1953–1969) revolutionized criminal procedure. These landmark decisions changed the course of criminal justice in the following areas:

• Notification of rights, confessions and questioning by police (Miranda Rights)
• Search and seizure
• Right to counsel for indigents

But how much has police and prosecution really changed since these decisions took effect? How much safer are the accused from the sort of abusive governmental practices that inspired the Warren Court’s landmark rulings? How has the structure of American government changed because of these decisions? The Supreme Court and Criminal Procedure answers these questions. By presenting and analyzing primary source materials, such as brief excerpts from the Court’s opinions, law review, articles, editorials from the popular press, and police manuals before and after the rulings, legal historian Michal Belknap paints a vivid picture of the High Court’s impact on criminal procedure.

Key Features

• How the Warren court transformed criminal procedure
• Important primary documents
• Expert commentary from legal historian Michal Belknap