Is A Police Officer Legally Required To Read Me My “Miranda Rights”?
Many people believe that when they are arrested they must be read their Miranda rights. The Miranda rights are constitutional rights that every person has in this country, which requires the police to advise you of you right to have an attorney present prior to being questioned about the crime for which you were arrested. However, in a very high percentage of cases the police do not read a person their Miranda rights after they are arrested. Does the police have to read you your Miranda rights after arrest?
Unfortunately, the police only have to read you the Miranda rights if you are in legal custody, AND they intend to question you AFTER you have been placed in legal custody. This means that police officers are not required to read you the Miranda rights after you have been arrested if they do not intend to question you. Therefore, if you are arrested for a DUI, put in a police vehicle, and taken to the police station to have your blood drawn, the police have no legal obligation to read you your Miranda rights if they do not begin to question you after you are in legal custody.
However, if you are arrested and placed in a police vehicle, and the police wish to question you about your involvement in a crime, they must read you your Miranda rights. If you tell the police you do not wish to speak to them without an attorney present, they must stop asking you questions. However, what happens if the police question you even when you tell them you do not want to speak to them without your lawyer present? What can your lawyer do when your case gets to court when this violation of your rights has occurred?
Your lawyer can make a motion to “suppress any statements” that you made to the police in violation of your Miranda rights. What this means is the judge will decide if your Miranda rights “were violated.” If the judge finds that your Miranda rights were violated, the judge will likely prohibit the prosecutor from introducing into evidence in the prosecution’s case against you any statements you may have made to the police.
Many people ask if the criminal charges can be dismissed if the police failed to properly read you your Miranda rights. Unfortunately, the answer to that question is NO. The judge does not have the power to dismiss the case against you if your Miranda rights are not read to you in violation of law. The court only has the power not to allow the jury to hear any statements that you may have made to the police if the police questioned you without reading you the required Miranda rights.
As you can see this is a highly complex legal issue. When you are accused of a crime the first thing you should do is retain an experienced criminal defense law firm to begin to protect your legal rights.
If you or a loved one is accused of a crime contact the California criminal defense attorneys at Wallin and Klarich. Wallin and Klarich has many years of experience successfully defending clients for over 40 years. We will work to aggressively help you and to ensure that your rights are protected. The attorneys at Wallin & Klarich can be reached by phone at 888-749-0034. We have offices in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Ventura and Orange County. We will be there when you call.
Actually, if you are an adult, the police are not required to read you Miranda at all. They risk losing your statements if they don’t, but even that is not absolute. Statements can be used to impeach, for example.