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Who tipped off the media about the Waco raid?
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The officer (A. Hicks was the name on his badge, and if you're reading this, Police Chief Charles Ramsey, the man deserves a raise) was as friendly as he could be, but, unfortunately, he didn't have many answers. He didn't know what we were being charged with; he didn't know where we were being taken; he didn't know how long we'd be there. In fact, he didn't even know for sure whether I was under arrest. "I'd say it looks like you're under arrest" was all he had to say when I asked.

In his defense, I'd say that that was a pretty good answer. I was never formally charged and I left police custody the next morning without entering a plea. The receipt I have for the $50 I paid to the D.C. police says that I forfeited collateral on a "parading without a permit" charge, an offense that is, according to the New York Times, smaller than a misdemeanor. On the other hand, I spent 16 hours handcuffed on a school bus without food, water or access to a restroom. It did look as if I was under arrest -- but I still have no idea whether I really was.

There was one thing that the officer did know: that he had no responsibility to read us our Miranda rights. "That stuff," he said, "is only in the movies." And as of this weekend, he was absolutely correct.

The Miranda warning ("You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer for advice before we ask you any questions and to have a lawyer with you during questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish.") became the law of the land in 1966 with Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren's decision in Miranda vs. Arizona. Last year the notoriously conservative 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the Supreme Court decision, saying that it was superseded by a relatively obscure 1968 federal law called Section 3501. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court will consider the court of appeals' decision and, by the end of the summer, vote Miranda up or down.

Having recently spent an evening in our increasingly prosecutorial justice system for doing nothing more than protesting said prosecutorial justice system, I now know that Miranda matters. My brief to the honorable justices of the Supreme Court is simple: Maintain Miranda.

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