The Supreme Court, Miranda and Children - NYTimes.com

Samuel Alito, when applying for a Justice Department job during the Reagan years, explained that one of his motivations for going to law school was to reverse the liberal rulings of the Warren court. Now that he is one of at least four like-minded voters, and is on the Supreme Court, the two of the Warren Court crown jewels - Miranda, and the exclusionary rule are on the verge of being ground into dust, observes Linda Greenhouse in her comments on J.D.B. v. North Carolina, the recent 5-4 ruling that a seven year old in custody may have to be treated more carefully than and adult. - GWC

The Supreme Court, Miranda and Children - NYTimes.com

She notes "the dissenters’ extreme dislike for Miranda itself. Justice Alito refers repeatedly to Miranda’s “rigid standards,” its “inflexible” requirements and the “high cost” to the criminal justice system of having to suppress “confessions that are often highly probative and voluntary by any traditional standard.” (The dissenters’ bigger target is undoubtedly the exclusionary rule, which requires the suppression of illegally obtained evidence, and which, based on recent decisions, is hanging by a thread.)"