"The suspected presidential assassin will now answer a few questions"

Factual Questions
1

(Hi. I used to spend a lot of time here, a long time ago. Then I didn’t. But here I am.)

If you’ve ever watched any of the old footage from when JFK was assassinated (and the History Channel just had a great couple of specials on it), something occurs that seems absolutely bizarre nowadays:

The police trot out the arrested, suspected assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, for a press conference, to answer questions in front of assembled media!

This practice, I know, goes back a long way. John Dillinger became a beloved Robin Hood type through the charm he displayed in these kinds of press conferences after his arrest, as shown on the old Newsreel footage in theaters.

But obviously sometime post-Oswald, this became something police want no part of. You’ll get arrestees posting bail and speaking on the courthouse steps with their attorneys, but you sure don’t get suspected murderers in news conferences set up by the cops.

My question is, when specifically did that change? Did it trickle out of practice or happen suddenly? Was Oswald the last? Was it because of what ulimately happened with him that police re-thought this practice?

I’m wondering if there was some specific police association edict or court case or something that led to it becoming a thing of the past.

Thanks.

2

My WAG is that it was more the result of court decisions like the Samuel Sheppard case, as well as Miranda v. Arizona and other court cases which tightened up the rules of what can and can’t be used as evidence.

And a lawyer isn’t going to want a client to go on the record with anything before the lawyer has even had a chance to prepare a defense.

Put them all together and it makes sense for everyone involved to keep the accused away from reporters.

Those court decisions came in the mid-1960s, so Oswald was a coincidence of timing rather than a direct cause. Of course the Oswald mess was icing on the cake.

3

Woah. Hey, Milo. Long time no see.

4

Hiya, Smeg. It’s been a while.

And I think you’re probably right, kunilou.

It’s possible defense lawyers see nothing good that can come from free-wheeling interviews with their clients when they’d prefer they invoke their Miranda rights.

On the other hand, police seem to want to lock down all information on a case, citing the “continuing investigation,” so they’d seem to have a motivation as well.

5

Milossarian !

Good to see ya!