Trial Scheduled in Suit Over Miranda Rights

A federal judge Monday set an October trial date for a suit charging that police in Santa Monica and Los Angeles violated two murder suspects’ rights to remain silent and be provided a lawyer.

The suit, brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice and the Criminal Courts Bar Assn., says that police continued to question the suspects--James McNalley and James Bey--after they requested a lawyer.

Attorneys for the two cities contend that although officers did ask questions after reading the defendants their rights, that questioning did not violate the suspects’ Miranda rights.

In its landmark decision in Miranda vs. Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police must inform a suspect of the right to remain silent and to have an attorney.

“This case is about what the police can do after Miranda,” said Santa Monica City Atty. Marsha Moutrie. If a detective continues to question a defendant who talks, the information cannot be used in court against the defendant, Moutrie said. However, the information can be used to impeach the witness if the suspect takes the stand, she said.