A recap from today's Washington Post on yesterday's oral arguments on the reach of Miranda rights :

"In 1997, farmworker Oliverio Martinez was shot and seriously wounded in a struggle with Oxnard, Calif., police. As he lay racked with pain on a hospital gurney, police Sgt. Ben Chavez, investigating the police shooting, questioned him for 45 minutes despite Martinez's insistence that he didn't want to talk."

"Martinez later sued, alleging among other things that Chavez's questioning, which did not include reading Martinez his rights, amounted to an attempt at coerced self-incrimination -- even though Martinez was not eventually charged with a crime."

"Lower courts upheld Martinez's claim, but Chavez has appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing, in part, that there was no violation of Martinez's constitutional rights since they apply only if statements are used against a suspect at trial."

"Civil libertarians say a ruling for Chavez could permit police to abuse people they may not want to charge with a crime, but do want to extract information from."

"The Bush administration, however, supports Chavez, suggesting that a ruling against him could tie officers' hands when they may need information quickly."

"Justice Antonin Scalia wondered about the case's implications for fighting terrorism. "Let's assume you think someone is going to blow up the World Trade Center. Could the police beat him with a rubber hose?" Scalia asked."

"I understand the terrorism situation is a difficult one, but that's not our case," Martinez's attorney, R. Samuel Paz, replied."

"Stevens demanded to know from Deputy Solicitor General Paul Clement whether there is "any protection against the police just grabbing someone off the street and beating him up to get information when they have no intention of using it at trial."

Justice reporter Tony Mauro has this account of the oral arguments, including the officers' lawyer's acknowledgement for the first time that there was coercion.

Our thoughts on the case are here. A decision is expected in June.