How And When Do Miranda Rights Come Into Play In A Criminal Case?

MirandaThe Miranda case holds that when a subject is questioned in custody by the police, what that person says to the police will be admissible against them only if he has received the Miranda warning. There are several things that need to be looked at to determine if Miranda applies, and those three things are whether or not somebody was in custody, how the questioning was executed, and whether the person doing the questioning has the authority to do so.

Custody is usually the biggest question. Whether or not somebody is in custody is looked at using a “reasonable person” standard. You want to ask if a reasonable person looking at the situation would believe that they were in custody by the police. It is a spectrum. So if arrested and handcuffed at the police station, that person would be considered to be in custody. But then there is that gray areas as well. If you are in the police car but not cuffed, then that makes it less likely to believe that you are in custody. But if you’re in the police car and you are cuffed, are you considered to be in custody then? When a “reasonable person” believes that they’re no longer free to leave, then they would be considered to be in custody.

The second requirement of Miranda is that the confession comes as a result of questioning. Succinctly, if you volunteer something then that’s not considered questioning and your statements can be held against you.

The third requirement is that law enforcement authorities have to be the ones doing the questioning. So, if a private citizen acting independently of law enforcement detains somebody and questions him, then anything resulting from the confession is not covered by Miranda.

If you were not read your Miranda rights then does not necessarily mean what you say cannot be held against you. What you say can still be held against you even though you were not read your Miranda rights. It depends on the situation and those three requirements with custody being the most ambiguous of all of them.

For more information on Miranda in Oklahoma, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (405) 633-3420 today.