Let's hope you never hear them. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." Generally, folks feel that a police officer needs to provide every person whom they stop or with whom they speak these Miranda Warnings. However, that is not necessarily the case. The United States Supreme Court has outlined to whom and when these warning needs to be delivered.
The rights that we refer to as the Miranda rights are constitutional protections which the court ruled needed to be provided to certain people in police custody.
What Are the Miranda Rights?
The specific constitutional limitations that are usually 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 specificity as it set out in its ruling and that the warnings be meaningful for the persons being questioned.
Most law enforcement 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 officers to tell detainees that if they are not U.S. citizens that they have the right to contact their country's consulate.
When the Rights Need to be Spoken
The Miranda rights need to be spoken by a police officer to a person who is a criminal suspect and in police custody before they begin to question the detainee about the circumstances surrounding the scenario. The person is considered to be in law enforcement custody if a reasonable woman would believe that his or her freedom to leave is limited, regardless of whether the officers have formerly arrested the person.
To make incriminating evidence admissible at trial, officials need to provide the person with his or her Miranda warnings prior to finding the evidence. A person who is in police custody must be informed of their rights preceding any police questioning. If the suspect is arrested and the officers do not intend to question the person then the Miranda warnings do not have to be provided.
