You Have the Right to Remain Silent...But You Must Say So

Another 5-4 from the Supreme Court:

The Supreme Court says suspects must explicitly tell police they want to be silent to invoke their Miranda protection during interrogations.

A right to remain silent and a right to a lawyer are the first of the Miranda-rights warnings, which police recite to suspects during arrests and interrogations. But the justices on Tuesday said suspects must tell police they are going to remain silent to stop an interrogation, just as they must tell police that they want a lawyer.

The ruling comes in a case where a suspect remained mostly silent for a three-hour police interrogation before implicating himself in a murder. He appealed his conviction, saying he invoked his Miranda right to remain silent by remaining silent.

As I recall from all the episodes of COPS I've seen the Miranda warning includes the words "anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law", so this ruling from the Supremes seems completely reasonable.