The United States Constitution grants citizens a variety of protections when interacting with law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Anyone who has been taken into custody and interrogated by the police has a set of rights known as Miranda rights. This is a legal doctrine that requires the police to provide a ‘Miranda warning', which refers to informing individuals of the constitutional rights to:
- Remain silent
- Have a lawyer, even if they cannot afford the services of a private attorney
Miranda rights are often included in popular media. Fictional arrests often include police officers reciting a Miranda warning that includes: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court of law…”
Where Do Miranda Rights Come From?
There are two sources for Miranda rights:
- The Fifth Amendment, which grants citizens the right against compelled self-incrimination, and
- The Sixth Amendment, which grants citizens the right to a lawyer in criminal proceedings
The Supreme Court of the United States, in the 1966 case Miranda v. Arizona, held that these rights were meaningless if citizens were not made aware of them. In Miranda, the Court declared that police officers must inform anyone taken into custody of their rights. This must happen before any individual was interrogated, or questioned in a way that was designed to elicit statements or other evidence that could be ultimately incriminating.
What Triggers Miranda Rights?
You always have the right against compelled self-incrimination and the right to a criminal lawyer. However, Miranda requires that people be informed of these rights should they ever be:
- Taken into police custody, and
- Subjected to interrogation.
If someone is taken into custody and interrogated about potential criminal activity without being “Mirandized,” or read their Miranda rights, any evidence provided during that interrogation may be excluded from court.
Miranda rights can be waived. If a police officer delivers a Miranda warning, but an individual refuses to contact a lawyer and proceeds to divulge incriminating evidence, it may be admissible, and used in court.
Why Wasn't I Ready My Miranda Rights?
“Taken into police custody” and “subjected to interrogation” may seem like straightforward concepts, but these are actually incredibly complex from a legal perspective. At what point are questions asked by police officers “interrogation”? At what point has someone been taken into “custody”- does it involve physical transportation to a police station? What about a police car? Can one be taken into custody in a public place or private home, if cops do not allow that person to leave?
Your Miranda rights (and a violation of these rights) will depend on the exact circumstances of your encounter with law enforcement, including many different factors about exactly how you were approached and questioned.
Miranda Rights Can Help Defend Against Criminal Charge
A violation of Miranda rights is a violation of constitutional rights.
This can lead to any evidence obtained being excluded from court under the exclusionary rule. Evidence that has been excluded cannot be used in court because it was improperly obtained.