The right to counsel means that if you say you want a lawyer during police interrogation, you get one. The right to remain silent means the police can’t force you to admit that you committed a crime or make any other incriminating statements. § The right to be represented by an attorney (guaranteed by the 6th amendment of the US Constitution). § The right to remain silent (the right against self-incrimination) guaranteed by the 5th amendment of the US Constitution, and In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that when the police arrest a person and want to interrogate him, they have to remind him that he has these two rights: The Miranda Warning gets its name from Miranda v. In this case, if you’re wondering about being read your rights, I’m 100% sure you’re talking about your “Miranda Rights.” The short speech I typed out above is a variation of the Miranda Warning, which refers to two specific Constitutional rights. When someone who gets arrested says “the arresting officer didn’t read me my rights,” what rights are they talking about? After all, citizens and non-citizens alike have many rights under the United States Constitution. This might seem pointless since I’m telling you that a failure to read you your rights won’t affect your case 99% of the time, but who knows-maybe you’re in the 1% group where it will actually make a difference. The real-life effect of when the arresting officer doesn’t “read you your rights.” When a police officer has to “read you your rights.”ģ. What it actually means to “read someone their rights.”Ģ. Why? To explain this, we have to break it down into three components.ġ. So if you weren’t read your rights, there’s about a 99% chance it won’t have any effect on your case. Since police don’t have to read you your rights, they never do because they want you to talk and potentially give more evidence against you. It’s “fake news.” In real life, a police officer doesn’t routinely “read you your rights” when he arrests you-because it’s not necessary in most cases. So, people think that when they get arrested, the cop must read them some variation of this speech-but if the cop doesn’t, then the case gets “thrown out.”īut as a criminal defense attorney who must explain this on a weekly basis, let me tell you this: Hollywood has lied to you. Most people have seen hundreds of arrests on television and in movies play out like this long before they ever have any experience with the criminal justice system in real life.
If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.” Everything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
The police officer says “You are under arrest.” And then as the handcuffs are locked tight, the cop recites a short speech that sounds somewhat like this: Here’s a common scene in television and movies: A guy gets arrested.
This is where television does a huge disservice to the criminal defendant. Does this mean the case will get thrown out by the judge?”Īs a Texas criminal defense attorney, this is one of the most common questions I hear from potential clients it comes from what is, in my estimation, probably the most common misconception in all of criminal law. Question: “I was arrested, and the police didn’t read me my rights.