Commonly, a client will call me or stop by my office following an encounter with law enforcement and immediately note that their rights have been violated because the officer did not read the person their Miranda Rights.  Popular culture has given many of us a false sense of what our Miranda rights are and when they are relevant.  I would like to take this opportunity to briefly explain what your Miranda rights are, when they are triggered, and their practical application to your case.

The Fifth amendment to the United States Constitution contains many protections for an alleged perpetrator.  Particularly relevant in the context of Miranda Rights is the protection against compelled self-incrimination.  Essentially what this means is that law enforcement cannot rely on forcing you to admit to help prove their case against you.  Miranda Rights get their name from a 1966 Supreme Court case, Miranda v Arizona, wherein the Court held that an admission elicited from a suspect not informed of his rights was inadmissible as evidence in a subsequent trial.   

Unlike in the movies where the suspected perpetrator is read his rights as he is slammed into the hood of the police cruiser,  Miranda Rights are not typically triggered at the time of arrest.   Miranda Rights become relevant when a suspect is subject to interrogation while in police custody.  Interrogation, which elicits thoughts of torture and a dark room, is actually as simple as a state official (typically law enforcement) asking a suspect questions about the circumstances giving rise to the alleged offense.  While this is typically done at the police station, this can occur roadside or in the back of a police car.  Voluntary statements or admissions made prior to a reading of the Miranda Rights but not prompted by questioning are not protected by Miranda.  

The second trigger is police custody.  Police Custody essentially means that the suspect is not free to leave.  This often means that the suspect has been placed under arrest and that they are confined by some actions of law enforcement.  A temporary detention, such as being pulled over and questioned by a police officer, does not require you to be Mirandized, however, the underlying rights (silence, counsel) still exist and a person is free to exercise these rights.

A failure on the part of law enforcement to read you your Miranda Rights may be helpful to your case in some circumstances.  Evidence of your statements can be excluded from trial and this may be enough to tilt the scales of justice in your favor.  This does not necessarily mean that you will win your case (Miranda himself was retried and found guilty of horrific crimes) but it is certainly something that any experienced defense attorney will want to look into.

CONCLUSION

It is always important to remember that you have a constitutionally protected right to remain silent and right to an attorney.  Rarely, if ever, does speaking with law enforcement help your case.  Law enforcement is rigorously trained to use interrogation to help build their case. Even if you may feel like you are answering questions that have nothing to do with the alleged offense, you need to remember that all statements can and will be used against you.  In a case where direct evidence is lacking, your statements may just be enough to send you away in the eyes of a jury.  

I always counsel clients to invoke their rights early and often.  Do not make yourself the prosecution’s star witness.  Always speak with an attorney prior to making any statements to law enforcement even if you believe that they have nothing to do with your case.  If you believe that your rights have been violated, contact The Law Office of Mattias Johnson today let’s make this a fair fight.