The Miranda Doctrine and the fruits of the poisonous tree

Whenever you are arrested for any criminal charge, the policemen are obliged to inform you verbally of your Miranda rights and if there is failure to do this, any admission or confession that you might have made, shall be considered fruit of the poisonous tree, and thus such evidence will be thrown out of court. You cannot be convicted of the charges against you based on that illegally-obtained evidence.

On March 13, 1963, Ernesto Miranda a Hispanic American, was arrested by the police in Phoenix, Arizona, on charges of alleged kidnapping and rape of an 18-year-old girl 10 days earlier. After two hours of intense and intensive interrogations, Miranda signed a confession without the benefit of proper legal advice, much less a legal counsel. In no time, he was convicted and sentenced to imprisonment from 20 to 30 years.

The state supreme court of Arizona affirmed the conviction. Lawyer John Paul Frank represented Ernesto Miranda in his appeal to the Federal Supreme Court. Five justices of the High Court formed a majority to acquit Miranda because he was not properly advised of his rights before he confessed to the crime.

Chief Justice Earl Warren penned the majority opinion. Four other justices dissented. The case against Miranda was dismissed. Today, all suspects, upon arrest should hear the following from the arresting policemen: "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any question. You have the right to have a lawyer with you during the questioning. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning of you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without a lawyer present, you have the right to stop answering at any time." Any evidence obtained without this Miranda warning shall be excluded from the evidence in court being a fruit of a poisonous tree.

The doctrine of "the Fruit of a poisonous Tree", on the other hand, is a rule that antedated the Miranda rights. It simply means that all illegally-obtained evidence are fruits of the poisonous tree and are not admissible as evidence in court. This doctrine was established in 1920, in the case of Silverthorne Lumber Company vs. US, or more than 46 years before Miranda. The phrase "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" was coined by Justice Felix Frankfurter in his 1939 opinion in the case of Nardone vs. US. Illegally-obtained evidence including those allegedly planted by the police like drugs or firearms are not admissible in court. Those pieces of documents or object evidence that are confiscated without search warrants are fruits of the poisonous tree.

The two doctrines in Miranda and the Fruits of the Poisonous Tree are intended to protect the citizens from unlawful searches and seizures. These are derivatives from the Philippine Bill of Rights, which safeguards among others, the right to remain silent, the right to be assisted by counsel, the right to be presumed innocent, proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt, and the right against self-incrimination. No one shall be compelled to testify against himself.

The citizens also have the right against unreasonable searches and seizures. With very few exceptions, no arrest can be effected without a warrant and no search can be conducted without a search warrant. The liberty abode is protected and no government official or personnel, police or military can just barge into the dwelling of any person, whether it be a small hut or a huge castle.

As between the tremendous powers of the state and the government on one hand and the rights of the citizens on the other hand, there is a need to formulate some doctrines of law in order to reinforce the Bill of Rights in the protection of the citizens from the abuses and excesses of those who are in power. Among such doctrines are the Miranda Doctrine and the Doctrine of the Fruits of the Poisonous Tree. The people need to be protected from a very powerful state and government.