Frequently Asked Questions
Miranda Rights: The Who, What, Where, When and Why
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law….” And, so begins many police dramas and legal novels. Some fans of police dramas believe that a police officer needs to provide every person whom they stop or with whom they speak their Miranda rights. However, that is not accurate. The Supreme Court has explained who needs to be informed of these rights and when.
What are the Miranda Rights?
While, Miranda rights are named for the famous Supreme Court case, Miranda v. Arizona, the rights do not have their origin in that case. Rather, the rights that we refer to as the Miranda rights are constitutional rights which the court, in Miranda v. Arizona, decided needed to be provided to certain people in police custody.
The specific constitutional rights that are commonly 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. While many jurisdictions require their law enforcement officers to use particular wording, the Court did not require all jurisdictions to adopt the same wording when providing suspects with their constitutional rights. Instead, the court required that the warnings contain at least the same level of information as it set out in its ruling and that the warnings be meaningful for the suspects. Therefore, suspects are asked if they understand their rights and are required to say yes before an officer can begin questioning.
Some jurisdictions add additional warnings to the typical Miranda warnings that they think are important for the people in their communities. For example, some border states require officers to tell suspects that if they are not U.S. citizens that they have the right to contact their country’s consulate prior to questioning.
Who Needs to Hear the Miranda Rights and When
The Miranda rights need to be spoken by a law enforcement official to an individual who is a criminal suspect and in police custody before they begin to question the individual about the circumstances surrounding the crime. A person is considered to be in police custody if a reasonable person would believe that his or her freedom to leave the situation is restrained, regardless of whether the police have formerly arrested the person.
However, in 2004, the Supreme Court did uphold state “stop and identify” laws which allow police to ask biographical information of a person without first providing the person with his or her Miranda rights.
Why are These Rights Important?
In order for incriminating evidence to be admissible at trial, the police need to provide the suspect with his or her Miranda warnings prior to obtaining the evidence. The Supreme Court found that police officers need to provide suspects with their Miranda rights in order to safeguard a person’s right not to self incriminate. That is why a suspect who is in police custody must be informed of his or her rights prior to any police questioning. If a person is arrested and the police do not intend to question the person then the Miranda rights do not have to be provided.
When is a Search Warrant Necessary?
There are a few situations when law enforcement is exempt from obtaining a search warrant. Those situations include:
Consent:
Law enforcement can request to enter a person’s home or search a person’s belongings. If the person consents to the search and gives law enforcement express permission to conduct the search then a warrant is unnecessary.
Plain View Doctrine:
Law enforcement does not need a search warrant to obtain evidence that is in plain sight. For example, if an officer is walking down the street and sees a person with drugs in the park then the officer may arrest that person and keep the drugs as evidence even though a search warrant was not obtained. This exception exists because individuals do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy when they are in plain view.
Emergency Situation:
If the police are in hot pursuit of a felon and follow that alleged felon into a home or other private area then they do not need a warrant to obtain evidence that is in plain sight when they enter the building.
For example, a police officer may witness a robbery or an assault and begin to pursue the criminal to make an arrest. If the criminal flees and takes refuge in a private residence then the police may follow him and they do not need a search warrant to enter the home nor to collect evidence that is in plain sight or within the reach of the alleged criminal.
Police may also enter a residence without a warrant if they hear a person screaming for help or have reason to believe that a person or property is in imminent danger and that harm would result in the time it would take to obtain a search warrant.
Search Incident to Arrest:
Police officers may search the body and immediate surroundings of a person whom they take into custody. The courts have allowed this exception to the search warrant rule in order to protect police officers from people who may have concealed weapons.
Search warrants are the government’s way of balancing an individual’s Fourth Amendment rights with the societal interest in limiting crime and protecting the public. Therefore, the general rule is that a search warrant must be obtained before the police conduct a search but exceptions to that rule exist to protect police officers and society from harm.
Infraction, Misdemeanor or Felony: What is the Difference?
Criminal charges and wrongs are typically classified as infractions, misdemeanors or felonies depending on the severity of the wrong. The more serious the charges, the more serious the punishment usually is as well.
Infractions
Infractions are violations of law or ordinances that are typically pretty minor, including traffic infractions. An infraction is less serious than a misdemeanor and may not technically be considered a crime, depending on the circumstances. A person who commits an infraction will usually get a ticket or citation - not jail time or other heftier punishments. Many times, an experienced lawyer can help negotiate a reduction of misdemeanor charges to the level of an infraction for first-time offenders in an effort to avoid a criminal record.
Misdemeanor
Misdemeanors are more serious than infractions, but less serious than felonies. Misdemeanors typically result in a heavier fine than what someone would pay if they committed an infraction; or if sentenced to jail, for a term that is less than a year. If a jail sentence is imposed, it is served at a local, city or county jail rather than a state or federal prison (penitentiary). A person convicted of a misdemeanor usually does not lose the right to vote, serve on juries, practice in a licensed profession or serve in the military. Most importantly, misdemeanors are not counted as "strikes" in states that have adopted three strikes laws.
Felony
Felonies are the most serious types of crimes, and each state has different punishments for these offenses. A standard definition of a felony is any crime punishable by more than one year in prison. Unlike misdemeanors, defendants convicted of felonies serve their sentences in a state or federal prison rather than a local, city or county jail. Additional criminal procedures apply with felonies, and the right to a court-appointed lawyer if the defendant can’t afford one is one of the rights guaranteed in felony cases.
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law….” And, so begins many police dramas and legal novels. Some fans of police dramas believe that a police officer needs to provide every person whom they stop or with whom they speak their Miranda rights. However, that is not accurate. The Supreme Court has explained who needs to be informed of these rights and when.
What are the Miranda Rights?
While, Miranda rights are named for the famous Supreme Court case, Miranda v. Arizona, the rights do not have their origin in that case. Rather, the rights that we refer to as the Miranda rights are constitutional rights which the court, in Miranda v. Arizona, decided needed to be provided to certain people in police custody.
The specific constitutional rights that are commonly 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. While many jurisdictions require their law enforcement officers to use particular wording, the Court did not require all jurisdictions to adopt the same wording when providing suspects with their constitutional rights. Instead, the court required that the warnings contain at least the same level of information as it set out in its ruling and that the warnings be meaningful for the suspects. Therefore, suspects are asked if they understand their rights and are required to say yes before an officer can begin questioning.
Some jurisdictions add additional warnings to the typical Miranda warnings that they think are important for the people in their communities. For example, some border states require officers to tell suspects that if they are not U.S. citizens that they have the right to contact their country’s consulate prior to questioning.
Who Needs to Hear the Miranda Rights and When
The Miranda rights need to be spoken by a law enforcement official to an individual who is a criminal suspect and in police custody before they begin to question the individual about the circumstances surrounding the crime. A person is considered to be in police custody if a reasonable person would believe that his or her freedom to leave the situation is restrained, regardless of whether the police have formerly arrested the person.
However, in 2004, the Supreme Court did uphold state “stop and identify” laws which allow police to ask biographical information of a person without first providing the person with his or her Miranda rights.
Why are These Rights Important?
In order for incriminating evidence to be admissible at trial, the police need to provide the suspect with his or her Miranda warnings prior to obtaining the evidence. The Supreme Court found that police officers need to provide suspects with their Miranda rights in order to safeguard a person’s right not to self incriminate. That is why a suspect who is in police custody must be informed of his or her rights prior to any police questioning. If a person is arrested and the police do not intend to question the person then the Miranda rights do not have to be provided.
When is a Search Warrant Necessary?
There are a few situations when law enforcement is exempt from obtaining a search warrant. Those situations include:
Consent:
Law enforcement can request to enter a person’s home or search a person’s belongings. If the person consents to the search and gives law enforcement express permission to conduct the search then a warrant is unnecessary.
Plain View Doctrine:
Law enforcement does not need a search warrant to obtain evidence that is in plain sight. For example, if an officer is walking down the street and sees a person with drugs in the park then the officer may arrest that person and keep the drugs as evidence even though a search warrant was not obtained. This exception exists because individuals do not have a reasonable expectation of privacy when they are in plain view.
Emergency Situation:
If the police are in hot pursuit of a felon and follow that alleged felon into a home or other private area then they do not need a warrant to obtain evidence that is in plain sight when they enter the building.
For example, a police officer may witness a robbery or an assault and begin to pursue the criminal to make an arrest. If the criminal flees and takes refuge in a private residence then the police may follow him and they do not need a search warrant to enter the home nor to collect evidence that is in plain sight or within the reach of the alleged criminal.
Police may also enter a residence without a warrant if they hear a person screaming for help or have reason to believe that a person or property is in imminent danger and that harm would result in the time it would take to obtain a search warrant.
Search Incident to Arrest:
Police officers may search the body and immediate surroundings of a person whom they take into custody. The courts have allowed this exception to the search warrant rule in order to protect police officers from people who may have concealed weapons.
Search warrants are the government’s way of balancing an individual’s Fourth Amendment rights with the societal interest in limiting crime and protecting the public. Therefore, the general rule is that a search warrant must be obtained before the police conduct a search but exceptions to that rule exist to protect police officers and society from harm.
Infraction, Misdemeanor or Felony: What is the Difference?
Criminal charges and wrongs are typically classified as infractions, misdemeanors or felonies depending on the severity of the wrong. The more serious the charges, the more serious the punishment usually is as well.
Infractions
Infractions are violations of law or ordinances that are typically pretty minor, including traffic infractions. An infraction is less serious than a misdemeanor and may not technically be considered a crime, depending on the circumstances. A person who commits an infraction will usually get a ticket or citation - not jail time or other heftier punishments. Many times, an experienced lawyer can help negotiate a reduction of misdemeanor charges to the level of an infraction for first-time offenders in an effort to avoid a criminal record.
Misdemeanor
Misdemeanors are more serious than infractions, but less serious than felonies. Misdemeanors typically result in a heavier fine than what someone would pay if they committed an infraction; or if sentenced to jail, for a term that is less than a year. If a jail sentence is imposed, it is served at a local, city or county jail rather than a state or federal prison (penitentiary). A person convicted of a misdemeanor usually does not lose the right to vote, serve on juries, practice in a licensed profession or serve in the military. Most importantly, misdemeanors are not counted as "strikes" in states that have adopted three strikes laws.
Felony
Felonies are the most serious types of crimes, and each state has different punishments for these offenses. A standard definition of a felony is any crime punishable by more than one year in prison. Unlike misdemeanors, defendants convicted of felonies serve their sentences in a state or federal prison rather than a local, city or county jail. Additional criminal procedures apply with felonies, and the right to a court-appointed lawyer if the defendant can’t afford one is one of the rights guaranteed in felony cases.
