Nay Miranda, Aye Miranda - Updated: Suspect Still in Serious Condition
In all the lather over whether to Mirandize the Terror suspect or not, (and that “suspect” is pro forma only since the case and evidence against him is monumental,) there’s a few factors that need to be taken into consideration.
First, he came out of that boat voluntarily and he needed medical care. So we don’t know for certain that he’s actually been arrested yet. Since arrest starts some legal clocks ticking, they might have held off on that until his medical condition stabilizes.
If he’s a patient voluntarily receiving medical care, and the guards are there just for his protection (since many would like to see him dead,) that changes a few things.
Disclaimer: I’m no lawyer, I could be really really wrong in all of this speculation.What I expect to happen is that a team of interrogators will have a quiet chat with him to explore if there are other threats or connections to his brother that the authorities need to know. Since the brother is dead, there’s no need to worry about the brother’s rights or those of people who Dzhokhar might finger as an imminent threat since any mentions will take whole new investigations and legal processes. If, as I suspect there aren’t further accomplices then we will see him arrested, mirandized, and charged immediately after that chat.
Unlike a couple of US senators who are calling for him to be swept away to gitmo, most of the public recognizes that this isn’t an episode of NCIS LA and they don’t want anything like that to occur. **
Update:
As I noted in the disclaimer I could be wrong, see this note from the FBI, while the headline mentions arrest, there’s not a statement that he is arrested or under arrest, which to me leaves the status vague:
Message from FBI Director Robert Mueller Regarding Arrest of Boston Bombing Suspect
Washington, D.C.
April 19, 2013FBI National Press Office[no phone numbers allowed]
Message from FBI Director Robert S. Mueller:During this long week, we have seen an extraordinary effort by law enforcement, intelligence, and public safety agencies. These collaborative efforts, with the help and cooperation of the public, resulted in the successful outcome we have seen tonight. The investigation will continue as part of our efforts to seek answers and justice, and there will be no pause in that effort. But tonight, I wish to thank all those who worked so tirelessly throughout the week in the pursuit of safety and justice
The FBI also has an update out from the doctors that he’s still in serious condition - I would also add that with a neck wound it’s possible that he can’t speak.
Update from AP
What Tsarnaev will say and when are unclear. He remained in serious condition Sunday and apparently in no shape for interrogation after being pulled bloodied and wounded from a tarp-covered boat in a Watertown backyard. The capture came at the end of a tense Friday that began with his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan, dying in a gunbattle with police.
more: kshb.com
original opinion piece From Hampton Roads Pilot online:
The capture of the Boston Marathon bombing suspect raises a host of freighted legal issues for a society still feeling the shadow of 9/11, including whether he should be read a Miranda warning, how he should be charged, where he might be tried, and whether the bombings Monday were a crime or an act of war.
The suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was taken, bleeding, to a hospital on Friday night, and it remained unclear Saturday whether he was conscious. The authorities would typically arraign a suspect in a courtroom by Monday.
Most experts expect the case to be handled by federal authorities, who were preparing a criminal complaint alleging the use of weapons of mass destruction, which can carry the death penalty because deaths resulted from the blasts.
“I think we can expect the prosecution to put together a meticulous case,” based on the forensic evidence, the videos, eyewitness accounts and any statements that the surviving defendant makes to the authorities, said Kelly T. Currie, who led the Violent Crimes and Terrorism section in the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s Office from 2006 to 2008.
The Obama administration has said it planned to begin questioning Tsarnaev for a period without delivering the Miranda warning - informing him that he has a right to remain silent and to have a lawyer present.
More: No Miranda? Boston Case Raises Raft of Legal Issues
Disclaimer: I’m no lawyer, I could be really really wrong in all of this speculation.