A Constitutional law professor and lawyer, in 1963 Frank represented Ernesto Miranda for an appeal. Miranda had confessed to a rape charge and was sentenced to 20-30 years in prison.
Frank argued that Miranda did not understand his rights under the Constitution, and that his confession was coerced by the police. The Supreme Court agreed in 1966 and the “Miranda Rights” were born: police officers must now advise suspects of their rights before questioning — “You have the right to remain silent,” among others. (Miranda himself was retried, convicted, and again sentenced to 20-30 years, and was knifed to death in a bar fight shortly after he was released from prison.)
“Miranda was a capstone to a vast cross-cultural pressure,” Frank said in 1986, “that led to law enforcement in this country becoming more civilized.” He died September 7 in Arizona from a heart attack. He was 84.