Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-04-06
The Mallory Decisions Two Experts Give Their Views
1t Protects Our Liberties

low the end iustifies the meons--to
declare thot the government mey
commit crimes in order 10 secure the
conviction Of o pfiyots eriminol-would
bring terrible retribution."
Senator Butler Of Maryland has
introduced bill which is almost
as dangerous as the Heating bill,
S. 2432 provides that the polite
must take the accused beforessA
commissioner within IL hours 81
his arrest. but If a commissioner
cannot be found within that pc,
Rod the police may continue ia
hold the accused until arraign4
ment is possible. nj
This bill invites the police to
wait literally until the eleventh
hour before making any effort to
take the accused before a com.
missioner. It puts a premium,
moreover. upon intensive interroc
cation to extract a confession
OeIoTe CIle ueauIlIle. e
Under this bill the police could
hold any suspect incommunicado
for IL hours Of continuous cues.
tioning before anyone advised
him Of his right to counsel. his
privilege against self -incrimina.
ton. his right to bail. ST
1t has been suggested that thesi
bills would protect innocent PEG.
pie from arrest records, because
the police would release anyone
who appeared innocent after in2
terrogation. The fact is thatTa
record must be kept of all arrests.
Once man is arrested and taken
to police headquarters he has an
arrest record. His reputation
cannot be further damaged By
taking him before a commissioner.
who will advise him of his rights
and. in most cases. admit him to
bail.
-,
Would Discriminate
These bills will, however, dis.
criminate against the youthful
and uneducated suspect. The
hardened criminal does not need
Commissioner to advise him Of
his rights-he knows them. It
is no accident that the Mallory
rule was formulated in a case
involving a l9-year-old boy OF
limited intelligence. n
Our Court Of Appeals has re-
versed only three convictions on
the basis Of this rule. It is like.
wise no accident that one of these
cases involved another 19-year-
old defendant OF questionable
mental capacity and another in.
volved an l8-year-old defendant
with an I. @. Of "a. Ant
These are the people whom
Rule 5 was promulgated to pro-
tect. They do not understand
about the privilege against seif.;
Inflammation. They do not know
that the court will appoint "a,
lawyer to defend them if they
are without funds. They do not
know about bail and preliminary
examinations. ~
1t is a sham to advise such
people Of their constitutional
rights after the police have ques-
toned them for hours or even
days to extract damaging admRo
sions which virtually insure coma
VlcLlon. 1zc
The McNabb case provoked the
same crisis in 1913 that the
Mallory case is provoking today.
Bills were introduced in Congress
to nullify its effects. For IA
years We have lived under the
McNabb rule, however, and it has
released few, If any, dangerous
criminals to prey on society. The
latest statistics from the Depaft3
ment of Justice show that 20
per cent Of the criminal prose-
cutions initiated by the United
States during 1856 and 1857 ended
in convictions. 1t is a safe pre-
diction that the Mallory rule will
have no discernible effect upM
these statistics.
SmoIl Price
The occasional release Of q
guilty man. moreover. Is q small
price to pay for a society where
the police are under the law. TifS
business Of ferreting out crime 10
often competitive. and the police
are tempted to forget than an IN.
solved crime is not the worst 81
all possible evils. Sc
A free society can survive the
occasional acquittal Of the guilty,
but 1t cannot survive the convic.
ton Of the innocent. Nor can IL
survive dragnet arrests upon stise
picion and subsequent detention
for investigation. -
Historically the real threats to
civil liberties have not come from
men Of bad faith. We have always
been alert to their designs. The
great danger has lurked in insidi.
Gus entertainments by well-mean-
ing men Of zeal. who have
forgotten that a good end does
not justify an illicit means. The
Mallory decision Is q great decisien
because it reasserts this clemens
tary principle. -
n