What Are Miranda Rights? (2024)

Your Miranda rights are rights that the police must inform you of when you are detained by police. Miranda rights get their name from the Supreme Court case (Miranda v. Arizona) from which they are derived. Here’s what suspects must be told before an interrogation:

• They have the right to remain silent
• That anything they say can be used against them in court
• They have the right to an attorney
• If they cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for them

This has come to be known as the Miranda warning, with police usually saying, “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”

However, police do not have to say this exact statement as long as they convey your rights to you.

Miranda warnings may or may not be given when you are arrested, and probable cause exists that you have committed a crime. However, a law enforcement officer must always read Miranda warnings before a custodial interrogation, whether in police custody, at the scene of a crime or elsewhere.

Suppose you are arrested for suspicion of robbery, and the police take you to the station for questioning. In that case, they must inform you of your Miranda rights before asking any incriminating questions. If the police fail to give a Miranda warning before questioning you, any answers you give may not be admissible as evidence in court.

Police cannot interrogate you unless you waive your Miranda rights. Your waiver must be:

• Knowing and intelligent.You must be aware of your rights
• Voluntary.You must agree to waive your rights of your own accord, not because of police pressure.
• Timely.If you are taken into custody a second time, you must be informed of your rights again and choose whether to speak to police or not at that time.

If you do not wish to speak to police, you can invoke your rights. This involves indicating in any way that you want to exercise the right to remain silent or the right to a lawyer. As soon as you tell police you wish to exercise your right to an attorney, police must stop questioning you until your lawyer is present. Police must also respect your right to remain silent.

You can choose to waive your Miranda rights and answer questions, then invoke your rights at a later point. However, anything you said before you invoke your rights can be used against you.

You can invoke your rights by making clear you wish to remain silent or that you “plead the fifth,” referring to the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which protects against self-incrimination. If your rights are read to you and you do not specifically waive your rights but talk to the police, this is an implied waiver of your rights.

Miranda v. Arizona was a landmark Supreme Court case in 1966. Ernesto Miranda, a suspect in a kidnapping and rape, was interrogated by law enforcement officials in an isolated space for hours. He ended up admitting guilt and signing a statement. The Court weighed whether law enforcement must ensure that suspects detained and questioned are informed of their rights established in the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

The Court subsequently ruled that Miranda’s confession was inadmissible because law enforcement hadn’t informed him about his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. This decision led to the creation of Miranda rights, which include the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney.

For the Miranda rule to apply, specific conditions must be met during the investigation and prosecution of a criminal case. Here are the six requirements for the Miranda rule:

Evidence Must Have Been Gathered

Law enforcement officials must have gathered the evidence during an interrogation for the Miranda rule to apply. In other words, if the suspect doesn’t speak and answers no questions, whether or not they were advised of their rights is of no consequence, as no evidence was gathered.

The Evidence Must Be Testimonial

Under the Miranda rule, the evidence must be testimonial, meaning it involves statements or admissions made by the suspect. Testimonial evidence may include verbal statements, written confessions or other forms of communication.

On the other hand, the Miranda rule doesn’t apply when physical evidence is required from a suspect, such as a DNA sample or fingerprints. Physical evidence is not protected by the Fifth Amendment self-incrimination clause. It may only be considered testimonial if accompanied by verbal or written statements from the suspect.

The Evidence Must Have Been Obtained While the Suspect Was in Custody

The evidence must have been obtained while the suspect was in custody, meaning they were under the control of law enforcement officers and could not leave. This can occur when the suspect is under arrest or their movement is restricted similarly to an arrest.

Custodial interrogation does not have to occur in a police station for the Miranda rule to apply. Still, it may be held in various settings, such as patrol cars, crime scenes, jail and other locations where a suspect is not free to leave.

The Evidence Must Have Been the Product of Interrogation

The Miranda rule only applies if the evidence was obtained through interrogation by law enforcement officers. This may include questioning, pressure tactics, confronting the suspect with incriminating evidence and other techniques for obtaining information from the suspect.

The Miranda rule does not apply if a suspect in custody made a voluntary statement admitting guilt or an incriminating statement outside of the interrogation, such as during a search of their property.

The Interrogation Must Have Been Conducted by State Agents

For the Miranda warning to apply, the interrogation must have been carried out by state agents, such as law enforcement officers or other government officials. Private individuals or non-government entities are not required to inform a suspect of their Miranda rights, and statements made to them may or may not be admissible in court.

However, there can be gray areas. For example, when a police officer acts as a private individual, they may still trigger the Miranda rule requirement, as law enforcement officers are always considered “on duty.”

The Evidence Must Be Offered by the State During a Criminal Prosecution

Another vital requirement for the Miranda rule is that the evidence must be offered during a criminal prosecution. A statement obtained without informing the suspect of their Miranda rights typically cannot be used by the prosecution as evidence of guilt.

However, this only applies in criminal cases and not civil proceedings. For the Miranda rule to kick in, the evidence must be used against the suspect as part of the state’s case in a court of law.

Officers must read you your Miranda rights as soon as they plan to interrogate you while you are in custody. Being in custody means that you are not free to leave at any point that you wish.

If you are free to leave or not in custody, police do not need to read you your rights before asking you questions.

Police do not need to read you your rights upon arrest, either, unless they are questioning you. The triggering event that necessitates reading your rights is a custodial interrogation, or questioning that occurs when you are not allowed to leave at will.

If police do not read you your Miranda rights before a custodial interrogation, any statements you make during that interrogation are inadmissible in court as evidence of a crime.

Although prosecutors cannot present the statements to secure a conviction against you for violating the law, there are circ*mstances where statements made without a Miranda warning could be introduced in court. In some cases, they could be introduced during the sentencing phase or to call your credibility into question if you give a conflicting statement to the police and in court.

If statements you make without a Miranda warning lead police to discover physical evidence or a witness, it can be used against you, and police can also use evidence they inevitably would have discovered anyway even if they first learned about it through an un-Mirandized statement.

There is also a public safety exception that allows police to question suspects without a Miranda warning when they believe there are weapons that pose a danger to the public..

Miranda rights are not required when a suspect is not in custody and is not subjected to an interrogation by law enforcement officers. For example, spontaneous and voluntary statements made by a suspect without police questioning may be admissible in court even if the law enforcement officer did not give Miranda warnings.

Miranda rights may also not be required for questions that aren’t part of an interrogation and are not incriminating, such as asking where the suspect lives and their date of birth. However, if an encounter escalates to a custodial interrogation, police must provide Miranda warnings.

Another important exception to Miranda rights can occur when a threat to public safety exists. For example, if a murder suspect or terrorist discarded a weapon, officers may inquire about its location without first giving Miranda warnings. However, no Miranda rule exception exists for misdemeanors or other lesser offenses.

A similar exception exists for rescue situations when questions are asked to rescue a victim from the potential of serious injury or death.

To invoke your Miranda rights, state your desire to remain silent or to have an attorney present during questioning. You can do this before or during an interrogation by saying phrases such as “I invoke my right to remain silent” or “I want a lawyer to be present.” Once you invoke your rights, law enforcement officers must cease questioning you.

Being interrogated can be stressful and upsetting, but remember that you do not have to make any statements or answer questions until you’ve spoken with an attorney. It is your constitutional privilege to remain silent and request legal representation.

If you believe police failed to read you your Miranda rights before a custodial interrogation, you should speak with a criminal defense attorney ASAP. Your lawyer can help you to make a compelling argument to convince the court not to allow a prosecutor to use any statements you made during the interrogation.