MIRANDA RIGHTS

In 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Miranda v. Arizona, that individuals who are under arrest for suspicion of having committed a crime have rights that must be explained to them prior to any questioning.

These rights are designed to protect your right to be free from self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The five specified rights known as the "Miranda Rights" are as follows:

• You have the right to remain silent and to refuse to answer questions.
• Anything you do or say may be used against you in a court of law.
• You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future.
• If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish.
• If you decide to answer questions now without an attorney present, you will still have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney.

Miranda rights must be read when a suspect is in police custody and under interrogation. If the police stop you to simply give you a traffic ticket, you cannot later protest that you were not read your Miranda rights.

While the police may have been "interrogating" you in a certain sense, you were not in police custody unless your freedom of action was curtailed to a degree associated with formal arrest; read through your state laws for definitions of police conduct that would be associated with formal arrest.

The best course of action to take when interacting with the police is to be polite, but refuse to answer any questions other than your name. While you should cooperate, this does not mean providing any more information than necessary, or putting yourself at risk to make a statement that could incriminate you presently or later on.

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