Should the courts allow ten guilty felons to go free based on a legal
techicality to protect the rights of that one person who may be
unjustly charged?

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Request for Question Clarification by mvguy-ga on 10 Sep 2002 15:38 PDT

Are you thinking about a particular technicality?  If the technicality
is "guilt beyond a reasonable doubt," the answer might be different
than if we're talking about the Miranda rule.

The statement is usually phrased, "It is better that ten guilty men go
free than to convict one innocent man."

The "technicalities" people speak of usually have their origins in the
Bill of Rights, and the reason for allowing an occasional guilty
person to go free on the basis of the violation of their
constitutional rights is often not so much about protecting a
potentially innocent person charged with a crime, but is instead about
preserving the civil rights and liberties of the population at large
against overreaching and possibly illegal police conduct.