Learning More About The Miranda Rights

Learning More About The Miranda Rights 

Learning More About The Miranda Rights 

If you have never been arrested, you may wonder how accurate crime TV shows are. Is it as dramatic as it always seems on TV? Do they read you your Miranda rights and take you into a little interrogation room to play “good cop/bad cop”? It is important to remember if you are arrested and in police custody, they should have read you your Miranda rights. Otherwise, they may not be able to use what you say in court. If arrested, you have two big rights that any attorney is going to recommend you use: 

  1. You have the right to not speak and remain silent
  2. You have the right to ask for an attorney to be present when the police question you

What to Expect If You Are In Police Custody

If you are in police custody, you may be wondering what you should expect. 

  • Look at the number of officers. This is often a tactic use to scare the person in custody into being willing to talk. 
  • Who else is there? The setting may be less coercive if you were not taken downtown and if you were surrounded by family or friends. 
  • Who is asking you the questions? Make note of who is questioning you. A police officer may not be as intimidating as a police chief flashing his gun. 
  • Make note of the details. If you were taken by force, in handcuffs, and at an odd hour of the night, this makes it more likely that you are in police custody and not being asked questions of your own volition. 

Do the police have to stop an interrogation if the Miranda rights are invoked? 

Yes. If you are speaking with the police and wish to invoke the Miranda rights and would like to remain silent and have your attorney present for questioning, you can do so and the police are obligated to stop asking you questions. A person can invoke these rights immediately following a police officer reading them or halfway through an interrogation. 

What is the best thing to do in these situations? 

When police officers are questioning you, the best thing you can do for yourself is to state that you are going to remain silent and that you would like to wait for legal counsel before questioning continues. The police officers must respect this right. Look for a local attorney, like a criminal defense attorney from a law firm like The Morales Law Firm