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Harris v. New York - Alleged Heroin Sale, Miranda V. Arizona, Testifying Against Oneself, Decision On Harris

court justices petitioner william

Petitioner

Viven Harris

Respondent

State of New York

Petitioner's Claim

That Harris's constitutional rights had been violated, and thus his narcotics conviction should be overturned.

Chief Lawyer for Petitioner

Joel Martin Aurnou

Chief Lawyer for Respondent

James J. Duggan

Justices for the Court

Harry A. Blackmun, Warren E. Burger (writing for the Court), John Marshall Harlan II, Potter Stewart, Byron R. White

Justices Dissenting

Hugo Lafayette Black, William J. Brennan, Jr., William O. Douglas, Thurgood Marshall

Place

Washington, D.C.

Date of Decision

24 February 1971

Decision

That statements considered inadmissible in convicting a defendant could be used to attack his or her credibility on the witness stand.

Significance

Narrowed suspects' rights in an attempt by a new conservative majority on the High Court to redress past liberal decisions.

Related Cases

  • Walder v. United States, 347 U.S. 62 (1954).
  • Blackburn v. Alabama, 361 U.S. 199 (1960).
  • Townsend v. Sain, 372 U.S. 293 (1963).
  • Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).
  • Lego v. Twomey, 404 U.S. 477 (1972).
  • Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157 (1986).

Further Readings

  • Dershowitz, Alan M. and John Hart Ely. "Harris v. New York: Some Anxious Observations on the Candor and Logic of the Emerging Nixon Majority." Yale Law Journal, Vol. 80, May 1971, pp. 1198-1227.
  • Graham, Fred P. "Justices Narrow a Crime Decision by Warren Court." New York Times, February 25, 1971, p. 1.
  • Harvard Law Review, Vol. 85, November 1971, pp. 44-64.

Additional Topics

Harris v. New York - Alleged Heroin Sale

On two occasions in early January of 1966, Viven Harris of New Rochelle, New York, was involved in the sale of heroin to undercover police. He claimed to have acted as a middleman in both transactions, and for the second sale was promised part of the heroin. After Harris was arrested on 7 January, he admitted to police that he had made both sales, but asserted that the undercover officer had instr…

Harris v. New York - Miranda V. Arizona

In a significant Supreme Court decision of 1966, the Court ruled that evidence, such as confessional statements made to police, could not be used in court if the defendant had not been informed of his right to a lawyer, as well as instructed that anything he or she said could be used against them in court. It gave suspects the option of remaining silent and let them know that if they could not aff…

Harris v. New York - Testifying Against Oneself

Harris v. New York - Decision On Harris

In an opinion written by Chief Justice Burger, the Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that a defendant's statements, even though made without the obligatory Miranda warnings, were admissible in court to impeach his or her testimony. They cited other cases as legal precedent, specifically a 1954 Supreme Court decision that deemed knowledge of narcotics evidence taken in an illegal search (but not used t…

Harrisburg Coalition Against Ruining the Environment v. Volpe - Significance, No Evidence Of Discriminatory Effect, Impact, Further Readings [next] [back] Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections - Significance, Further Readings

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