Understanding Your Rights

If you’ve been accused of a crime or approached by law enforcement to discuss a crime, you may be feeling scared and overwhelmed. You have probably also heard the following in TV shows or movies: 

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 an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you.

That is called the Miranda warning, and it comes from a famous Supreme Court case called Miranda v. Arizona. But what do these rights really mean, and what other rights do you have? 

The Constitution

The United States Constitution guarantees numerous rights to accused individuals. These rights can be found in the 4th, 5th, and 6th Amendments, and are applied to the states through the 14th Amendment.

Miranda Rights

As you see above, the Miranda warning tells you that you have the right to silence (5th Amendment) and the right to an attorney (6th amendment).

Your first question may be, “when am I entitled to a Miranda warning?” Miranda warnings must be given whenever you are subject to a “custodial interrogation.” You are “in custody” if you are either arrested or your freedom of movement is constrained in a way that is comparable to formal arrest—just because you’re not handcuffed or sitting in an interrogation room does not mean you’re not “in custody” for purposes of the Miranda warning. Interrogation has been defined as any words or actions by law enforcement that they know or should know are reasonably likely to lead to an incriminating response. These can be actual questions, but can also include statements made to fellow officers in your presence in order to get a response out of you.

Many people worry that if they invoke their right to silence, a future jury will think that they’re hiding something. While the police warn you that anything you say can be used against you in court, what they don’t tell you is that your silence cannot be used against you in court. For example, a prosecutor can’t say to a jury, “and the defendant invoked his right to silence when the police started talking to him—if you’re innocent, why stay silent? What do you have to hide?” Doing so would violate your 5th amendment right to silence.

The other thing law enforcement doesn’t tell you is that, if you invoke your right to silence or to an attorney, your request must be “scrupulously honored.” That means that they must immediately stop asking you questions. They cannot say, “while we wait for an attorney to show up, I wanted to ask you about XX.”

 Trial Rights

If you go to trial, the 5th and 6th amendments provide numerous rights and protections.

 Under the 5th amendment, you still have the right to remain silent at trial. That means you cannot be forced to testify at your own trial. The judge always instructs the jury that they cannot consider whether or not you took the stand in your own defense when determining if you are guilty or not guilty.

Under the 6th amendment, you are entitled several rights:

1.     Effective assistance of counsel

2.     A fair trial by a jury of your peers

3.     To compel witnesses in your favor by way of subpoena

4.     To confront witnesses against you through cross-examination

This blog post does not constitute legal advice or create an attorney-client privilege between Altonaga Law, PLLC and the Reader. Please be sure to consult with an attorney about your rights and any legal questions you may have.