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Miranda Rights

“You have the right to remain silent.”  Everyone has heard those memorable words, the Miranda Rights, on any given cop or detective show.

Typically, they are being read by the star of the show as the wrongdoer is being stuffed into a cop car or otherwise being led to jail.   More properly, the full recitation is known as your “Miranda rights,” named for the landmark case of Miranda v. Arizona.  A case that guarantees a person to be notified of his right to an attorney before a custodial interrogation is conducted.

As in many things in life, the devil is in the details

Many complain to their attorney that they weren’t “read their rights” upon arrest.  The fact is that such rights need not be read in every case or every arrest.  As noted above, the right to such a recitation is only invoked when a custodial interrogation occurs. 

Think of any episode of NYPD Blue with Detective Sipowicz. Officers are permitted to ask questions of a person while still in the investigatory phase. While still trying to determine what occurred, whether a crime has been committed, and whether the person being questioned is a suspect.

As such, many incriminating statements may be made by a suspect without the right to being Mirandized, having ever attached. 

Because there is no commercial break between when a lawful stop turns from an investigatory stop into a custodial interrogation.  The applicability of Miranda Rights turns on the specific facts of each particular arrest

If you have questions about Miranda Rights, contact us at https://www.kane-law.com/contact-us.com

Author

  • Angel Kane

    ANGEL KANE has been practicing law since 1995. Angel was a member of the University of Memphis Law Review and served as a judicial law clerk while in law school. A graduate of the University of Memphis Law School, Angel has practiced in Memphis and Lebanon, Tennessee.

incriminating statement, Miranda rights, Right To Remain Silent


Angel Kane

ANGEL KANE has been practicing law since 1995. Angel was a member of the University of Memphis Law Review and served as a judicial law clerk while in law school. A graduate of the University of Memphis Law School, Angel has practiced in Memphis and Lebanon, Tennessee.