What are Your Miranda Rights in Florida?
Most Florida residents know something about their Miranda Rights and have heard at least a few lines of them at some time or other whether at the movies or jokes amongst classmates such as “You have the right to remain silent and anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…”
Being read your rights when you have been arrested is one of the most important features of our criminal justice system here in Florida.
Many Americans however are either misinformed or uninformed as to what precisely their Miranda rights are all about, and when they have to be read out aloud by a law enforcement officer. The Miranda warning is a description where the wording indicates the rights of people held in police custody who have been detained as potential suspects in acurrent criminal investigation. This is a bright line rule, usually referred to as “Miranda Rights” and these rights were given their name from a case in the Supreme Court known as Miranda v. Arizona.
These are your Miranda Rights:
You have the right to remain silent;
Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law;
You have the right to consult with an attorney and have that attorney present throughout the interrogation;
If you are unable to pay a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you;
You are permitted to invoke your right to remain silent before an interrogation or during it and if you do so, the interrogation is required to stop. You can invoke your right to have a Miami criminal lawyer present, and any interrogation must be stopped until your Miami criminal attorney arrives.
When a law enforcement officer reads out aloud to you your Miranda rights he or she will ask you if you have understood the rights that have just been read to you. Miranda Rights are required to be read to a person held in police custody and the suspect is under interrogation. A person stop by police who is not free to leave may be deemed in custody for Miranda purposes. If you are not in police custody, the police officer is not required to read you your rights. This also means that the police can make use of anything you spontaneously say before you are in custody or or given the warnings.
Typically, “police custody” involves the police removing you of any freedom to do anything. Practically, this means you have been arrested or detained and are not free to leave. It does not apply to traffic stops or when apolice officer comes up to you to ask questions.
When it comes to interrogation you must be legally found to be in custody first before interrogation starts. A good Miami criminal defense attorney can establish that distinction for you in court.
If you are asked for your ID by a police officer this is not normally considered to be custody, arrest or detention. You my state you do not have an ID if you do not have one. You can also ask, “am I free to leave?”, “am I being detained?”, and you may invoke your right to remain silent and you’re right to an attorney. If the officer does not have reasonable suspicion to investigate a crime or probable cause to arrest you, you must be left alone or you’re Miami criminal defense lawyer can sue for false arrest.
An interrogation has started as soon as a police officer starts to ask the sorts of questions that imply that the suspect has been involved in a crime.
What If the police officer fails to read me my rights?
If the police have not read you your Miranda warnings, it means that any information obtained through questioning is subject to being attacked in court by your Miami criminal lawyer and excluded as evidence by the judge. This does not mean your case will be dismissed as many people think. It just means that any evidence that came from your statement must be excluded and thus maybe the state will be left with insufficient evidence to maintain the prosecution. So this could actually lead to a dismissal or a finding of not guilty by the jury.
One example of a situation like this is if you have confessed to your role in a burglary and where the stolen goods are to be found. Neither of these bits of information could be used as proof in court unless the police were able to prove that the evidence would have been discovered in the absence of your testimony.
The exclusionary rule is a necessary evidentiary rule devised by the United States Supreme Court when interpreting the fifth and sixth amendment of the United States Constitution. It was intended to deter overzealous police officers in the 1960s who would beat confessions out of defendants or use psychological ploys to trick people into giving up their rights and confessing even to things they are not guilty of to avoid street justice by law enforcement. Prior to the rule, the practice was to trick the uneducated and the downtrodden into a quick confession to close their case without having to gather any real evidence against the accused. All too frequently, interrogators would play good cop bad cop to scare and accused into a put confession. This rule is more relevant and necessary today than ever in a free society.
A right that is not known by the people is no right at all. This rule forces law-enforcement to inform you of your rights to remain silent and have a lawyer present at questioning or interrogation before stripping you of your rights.
If you are ever arrested in Miami you should without hesitation seek help from an experienced Miami criminal defense lawyer as soon as possible to ensure your legal rights are upheld.
Increase your knowledge! If you want to know more about how to resolve the problems you face when charged with a criminal offense in Florida, then you can follow Miami Criminal Attorney Albert M. Quirantes on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.
If you have any questions about this or any other criminal accusation, call Miami Criminal Defense Lawyer Albert Quirantes at: 305-644-1800 or visit our homepage www.CriminalDefendant.com for a direct link to the office or a text message or a map and directions to our office.
