Forty-nine years ago…

The New York Times’ “On this Day” squib reminded us today: 

“On June 13, 1966, the Supreme Court issued its landmark Miranda vs. Arizona decision, ruling that criminal suspects must be informed of their constitutional rights prior to questioning by police.”

That triggered memories, as the day the landmark decision first became known in Arizona, the father of one of my friends offered everyone in the neighborhood a glass of champagne, even us kids.  At the time I did not fully appreciate the reason.  It was only years later that I put it together that the celebrant was John P. Flynn, the lawyer who successfully argued the Miranda case before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Even more years later, in the 2000 Supreme Court decision of Dickerson v. U.S., another man from that same Phoenix, Arizona neighborhood would confirm the importance of “Miranda warnings” as an accepted mainstay of protection for individuals suspected of crimes.  Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist did not share the legal or political philosophies that generated the original ruling, but he could be persuaded to respect the role of stare decisis. I have often been bemused by the fact that John Flynn, a bold advocate and life-long Democrat,  had once celebrated his biggest victory with the children of the neighborhood, including the children of a future Supreme Court Justice, well known for his conservatism.  Phoenix, especially the legal community, was a very small town in those days.

My trip down memory lane took me to a colorful account of John P. Flynn’s life.  It is the story of a creative and talented lawyer, from an era much more tolerant of personal flaws. Read “Remembering John Flynn” by his one-time law partner Tom Galbraith.