A Basic Review of Miranda

In my former career as a Police Officer, and in my current career as an Attorney, I have had several people tell me that they were not read their Miranda rights, so any statement they made to the police is inadmissible in court.  This notion is not entirely accurate.  Forced, and many times coerced, confessions brought the United States Supreme Court to decide in Miranda v. Arizona that before any custodial interrogation can begin by the police, an arrestee must be read a set of rights.  Those rights have been dubbed the “Miranda Rights.”  The key to triggering those rights is custodial interrogation.

Custody is both an objective and a subjective test.  Objectively, would a reasonable person in your situation believe that he/she was in custody at that time?  Subjectively, did YOU believe that you were in custody at that time?  Generally speaking, a reasonable person, sitting in the back of a police car, handcuffed, and told by the police that he/she is under arrest is both objectively and subjectively in custody.  Now think about the person who is sitting in his/her home, three police officers standing in front of him/her, asking questions about a possible crime.  Is that person in custody?  You have to ask yourself several questions, including:  Is he free to leave?  Is he free to tell the police to leave?  Where are the officers positioned around the person?  Is there a clear path to the door?  Many more questions can be asked, to include event specific questions, but for brevity purposes, I’m sure you get the point.  When you run your test, the answers can be different depending on who you are working with.  Is this someone who doesn’t have much contact with the police?  Or is this someone who has had several run-ins with the law?  The person who deals with the police on a regular basis may not subjectively believe that he is in custody at that moment, even though a reasonable person may objectively believe that he is.

Interrogation is fairly simple.  Did the police ask any questions?  Bear in mind two things with this, though.  First, if the officer makes a statement that is designed to invoke a response from you, then it is the same as if he asked the questions.  Second, routine booking questions are not included in the definition of interrogation, and therefore are not covered by Miranda (height, weight, address, place of employment, etc.).

With all that said, the simple explanation to Miranda is, if you are in custody, then prior to asking any questions the officer must read you your Miranda rights.  However, if you volunteer information, despite having not been read your rights, then any of those statements may still be used against you in court.  So the point is, if you are arrested by the police, do not say anything.  Just because you haven’t been read your rights does not mean that what you say is inadmissible.