Understanding Miranda vs. Arizona

There is a fundamental misconception of what "Miranda warnings" are and when an officer must inform an arrested individual of his or her "Miranda Rights." Being a criminal defense attorney it is a guarantee that somebody will come into my office, a minimum of once a month, and tell me that the charges against them should be dismissed since the arresting officer did not inform my client of his or her "Miranda rights" at the time of arrest. There is a look of shock on my clients face when I inform him "the officer did not have to give you Miranda warnings." In the public eye the misperception is so great that I have had potential clients not hire me because they refuse to believe that an officer does not have to read an individual's rights each time that the officer arrests somebody.

In the case of Miranda vs. Arizona the Untied States Supreme Court held that "in custody interrogation is inherently coercive." The court held further that so as to ensure that all statements by an individuals in custody were of their own free will, the Supreme Court held that a person who is in custody needs to be advised of certain rights. The Miranda decision does not simply parrot the 5th Amendment, rather it states that a person must be informed of certain rights, including 5th Amendment rights, when being questioned while in custody.


So there are two requirements that must be met before an officer must advise an arrestee of his or her Miranda warnings. The 1st requirement is that an individual has to be in custody. The 2nd requirement is that there has to be questioning. Both need to be present before Miranda warnings are required.


For anybody who is arrested and not questioned, the arresting officer does not need to advise you of your Miranda rights. If the officer questions you before you are taken into custody, the officer does not have to advise you of your Miranda rights. In any case, the remedy for any 5th Amendment violation is not to dismiss the case, but rather to suppress any statement which was subject to custodial interrogation without the benefit of Miranda warnings. However, often, the somekeyword and often results in a dismissal.

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