Over the spring and summer of 2018, Illinois Tech contributed to a collaborative project — involving the ABA Center for Innovation, the IIT Institute of Design, IIT’s Computer Science program and a Chicago-Kent student — that created an innovative new solution to convey Miranda warnings consistently and accurately across language divisions.
Since Miranda warnings started being used routinely more than 50 years ago, after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Miranda v. Arizona, no one has formally made uniform translations available to ensure that Miranda rights are being communicated accurately to non-English speakers. The ABA’s Hispanic Commission took on the project of creating a solution for Spanish speakers, and their work led to this project.
Dean Krent explains the premise of the project in the video below:
“We need to make sure that the individual understands their constitutional rights: constitutional rights to have an attorney, constitutional rights not to respond to any question that may incriminate them. But how do you do that if the individual [doesn’t understand] English? The solution here, low-tech as it is, can be embraced by police organizations across the country in a way that will make a real difference.”
— Harold Krent
VIDEO:
Law + Design
In July 2017, Associate Dean Hugh Musick of the Institute of Design shared the process behind the project at the JandersDean conference hosted at Chicago-Kent and sponsored by The Law Lab:
“It’s a very exciting opportunity. We’re able to take a law student who’s sitting right here out into the field and speak with law enforcement officers to understand what some of those challenges are for them. But our ultimate goal is to make sure that the Miranda warning is delivered in the way that it needs to be, safely.”
— Hugh Musick
Chicago-Kent’s Jun Qiu ’18 was involved in the project and shared a preview of it at Chicago-Kent’s “25 at 565” celebration of the law school building’s 25th anniversary:
Miranda Warnings Project Pilot
The project was announced publicly in New Orleans in 2018 as a pilot:
See how a greeting card, a wide range of partnerships and a some innovative thinking are changing criminal justice in New Orleans. https://t.co/x0HPMEiBe3 @IITDesign @JPMNOLA @DBRodriguez5
— Ctr for Innovation (@ABAInnovation) September 6, 2018
What happens when #IDstudents collaborate with @ChicagoKentLaw and @illinoistech College of Science students in partnership with @ABAInnovation and @NOPDNews? https://t.co/vxl4nBvXmJ
— IITInstituteofDesign (@IITDesign) September 13, 2018
Honored to meet @ABAPresident to celebrate progress on Miranda project @ChicagoKentLaw with @IITDesign to help law enforcement officers provide Miranda warnings in many languages in easily understood terms. Thanks to @JPMNOLA and @ABAInnovation for their leadership. pic.twitter.com/5XUS81ywpL
— harold j krent (@hkrent) September 17, 2018
What a pleasure that I could contribute to this #legalinnovation project, working with @ABAInnovation and @IITDesign while still @ChicagoKentLaw! Watch the video???? to learn more!! (Believe it or not, I did this interview THE DAY before my bar exam (to relax)). ???? https://t.co/RQtz4tfMFI
— Jun Qiu (@JunQishere) September 14, 2018
PODCAST:
Hear from more of the lawyers and design team involved in the project in this Legal Talk Network podcast:
The Miranda Rights Warnings Project and how it’s helping those who don’t understand English understand their rights in this #OnTheRoad report from #ABAAnnual https://t.co/AkZXjDapEe
— Legal Talk Network (@LegalTalkNet) August 9, 2018
