On November 6, 1997, WLF had filed a brief on behalf of itself and Safe Streets Coalition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Virginia, urging it to reverse a lower court ruling that suppressed a defendant’s incriminating and voluntary statement because he was not read his “Miranda” warnings. WLF argued that because the suspected bank robber’s incriminating statements were voluntarily made, they should have been admitted into evidence as mandated by 18 U.S.C. § 3501, regardless of whether the technical Miranda warnings were given. While the court in United States v. Leong did not reach the merits because § 3501 had not been raised in the trial court, § 3501 was raised in the trial court by career prosecutors shortly before Attorney General Janet Reno changed the policy; accordingly, WLF argued in its brief that the Fourth Circuit can address the § 3501 issue.
