Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-09-01

mental system, a defendant has a
right to remain silent, not only at
the time Of trial, but, most i'm
portantly, after his arrest before
trial. The Supreme Court has
been at pains to condemn, as I'M
civilized and as a reproach to our
system Of criminal justice, not
only physical pressure, but pSy-
Geological pressure as well, de-
signed to force an accused to
confess.
The Supreme Court has not sat-
isfied itself with merely outlawing
confessions which are demon
strably involuntary. Taking cog
nizance of the fact that most con-
LESSONS are obtained while the
accused is alone in police custody
Immediately after arrest and be-
fore being transferred to. judicial
custody by committing magis-
trate, the court has held that
where there Is unnecessary delay
in bringing the accused before the
committing magistrate, any con-
fesSion made during this period
OF unnecessary delay shall not be
received in evidence. Thus the
court has sought to outlaw not
only coerced confessions, but con-
LESSONS obtained under circurn-
stances presumptively coercive.
Midnight Search Bonned
In the protection of rights
under the Fourth Amendment
against unreasonable searches and
seizures, the Supreme Court has
also been active. The midnight
knock on the door, the hallmark
OF the totalitarian police does not
pass muster in this country. The
court not only has outlawed EVIL
dence obtained from unreason-
able searches and illegal arrests,
but by an application Of the So
called fruit Of the poisoned tree
doctrine, 1t has ordered excluded
from the trial of a criminal case
all evidence derived from the EVIL
dence illegally obtained. 1.-THE
Government may not profit from
its own wrongdoing," so say the
courts.
Through its decisions in Grim
inal law, the court has given rich
meaning to our ideal of equal
justice under law. Persons &C
cuSed Of crime, as a class, have
little claim to sympathy with the
public, or to influence with polit-
ical authorities. 1t would be easy,
even popular, to construct the
rights of those who stand at the
bar Of justice. But the courts
have reminded US that the rights
Of all citizens are safe only to the
extent that the rights Of each
accused person are protected. The
phrase "It's his constitutional
right" has entered the common
language as a link between the
ideals Of our civilization and the
recognition Of the rights Of the
lowliest offender.
On Reopportionment
The reapportionment cases mark
another area where the courts
efforts in behalf Of our freedom
have achieved general support.
Reapportionment affects our free
dom in its own way. When we
say "this is a free country" one
of the things we mean is that we
are free people who govern our
selves. 1t is in order for US to
govern ourselves that we require
fair apportionment. If, for prac-
tical purposes, it were primarily
the farmers and small-town resi-
dents who voted, and the votes
of city people hardly counted at
all, then to that extent we would
be less a free country.
Reapportionment cases high
light the debate as to the role Of
judges in preserving freedom. And
these cases point out the i'm
portance Of general acceptance, Of
popular support. Of aid from ex-
ecutive and legislature, and Of re-