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Quotes of the Day for 13 June 2004 - Rights

Most TV viewers know this one by heart: "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense." It was on this day in 1966 that the US Supreme Court ruled that suspects must be clearly advised of these rights prior to questioning, overturning the kidnap and rape conviction of Ernesto Miranda. Miranda didn't go free, by the time of the ruling the police had gone out and done their homework and were able to convict him without the confession they had guided him to.

The rights of one are as sacred as the rights of a million.
     - Eugene V. Debs, 1855 - 1926

I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of the rights of the people by the gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.
     - James Madison, 1751 - 1836

If public officers will infringe men's rights, they ought to pay greater damages than other men, to deter and hinder other officers from the like offences.
     - Lord Holt, Judgment in Ashby vs. Aylesbury, 1702

Let us contemplate our forefathers, and posterity, and resolve to maintain the rights bequeathed to us from the former, for the sake of the latter.
     - Samuel Adams, 1722 - 1803

We hold these truths to be sacred and undeniable; that all men are created equal and independent, that from that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable, among which are the preservation of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
     - Thomas Jefferson, 1743 - 1826

All the rights secured to the citizens under the Constitution are worth nothing, and a mere bubble, except guaranteed to them by an independent and virtuous Judiciary.
     - Andrew Jackson, 1767 - 1845

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