ABSTRACT
In the United States, the legislative branch creates laws that the executive branch will execute, but the judicial branch can modify or eliminate the laws completely. Anyone in law enforcement knows how a law can be changed by a single ruling from the High Court. Perhaps, no better example can be found than Miranda v. Arizona. Before the ruling in that case, officers did not have to advise anyone that they had the right to remain silent or that they could have an attorney present with them if they were being interrogated. The mindset before that ruling was that it was each individual’s responsibility to know what his or her rights were. However, with that ruling, the court changed how interrogations were conducted, and if the rules were not followed, evidence obtained during such an interrogation would not be allowed in a court hearing.
