What Does Being Mirandized Mean?
You’ve heard them before. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.” Some individuals believe that a police officer has to provide every individual whom they stop or with whom they speak their Miranda warnings. However, that is not true. The Supreme Court has decided who needs to be informed of these rights and when.
While, Miranda warnings are based on the famous Supreme Court case, Miranda v. Arizona, the rights do not have their start in that case. Rather, the freedoms that we refer to as the Miranda rights are constitutional freedoms which the court determined needed to be provided to certain persons in police custody.
The exact constitutional rights that are typically referred to as the Miranda rights include the right to remain silent, the right against self incrimination and the right to an attorney during questioning and in court. The court also determined that the warnings contain at least the same level of information as it set out in its ruling and that the warnings be meaningful for the stopped individuals.
Some jurisdictions add additional warnings to the typical Miranda rights that they think are important for the people in their communities. For example, some border states require law enforcement to tell people under questioning that if they are not U.S. citizens that they have the right to contact their country’s consulate.
The Miranda protections need to be spoken by a police officer to he who is a criminal suspect and in state custody before they begin to question the suspect about the circumstances surrounding the crime. The person is considered to be in law enforcement custody if a reasonable man would believe that his or her freedom to leave is limited, regardless of whether the officials have formerly arrested the person.
To make incriminating evidence admissible at trial, officials need to provide the individual with his or her Miranda warnings prior to getting the evidence. A man who is in police custody must be informed of their rights before any police questioning. If the person is arrested and the police do not intend to question the person then the Miranda statements do not have to be given.
If you have been charged with a violent or cocaine crime in Neptune NJ, do not speak to the police. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. Talk with a local Freehold NJ criminal lawyer.