Know Your Miranda Rights

August 5, 2020

Know Your Miranda Rights

We’ve all seen people get arrested in movies and on TV shows, and the police officer always repeats the same script as they are placing the arrestee in handcuffs. While this can make for good drama, this so-called script is actually required by law, and is known as your “Miranda rights.”

While Miranda rights might seem like a technical requirement of an arrest, these rights are actually critical to protecting yourself in any criminal case that results from the arrest. It is important to understand what your rights mean and how to invoke them. If you have additional questions or want to discuss your specific arrest, contact Attorney Matt Matthews in Montgomery directly.

What Your Miranda Rights Mean
In the case of Miranda v. Arizona, the Supreme Court of the United States held that every criminal defendant should be informed of certain rights if they are detained and before police officers try to ask questions. While these rights do not have to always be worded the same, they must inform the arrestee of the following:

● You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.
● You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one can be provided for you.

While this might seem like a technical part of criminal procedure, knowing these rights is important for anyone who is arrested.

Invoking Your Miranda Rights
A common question that people have is whether or not to invoke the right to remain silent and/or the right to an attorney. Many people think that if they do so, they will seem guilty, and it will hurt their case. In reality, the opposite is true. Invoking your Miranda rights cannot be used against you in your criminal case. On the other hand, failing to invoke your rights and answering police questions without legal representation often causes harm to your case.

Remaining silent is important because police officers know how to get incriminating statements from people in custody - even if a person is innocent. They can take your answers and skew them as evidence against you. Even if officers promise they are on your side - rest assured they are not.

You want to clearly state to officers that you would like to remain silent and call an attorney. Then, contact a criminal defense lawyer who can begin helping you right away. We can represent you in all communications with police, which should immediately halt when you invoke your rights, and should not begin again until you have a lawyer present.

If officers fail to inform you of your rights or question you despite you saying you want to invoke your Miranda rights, your lawyer can work to keep anything that you say to police out of evidence in your criminal case. This is a critical time in the criminal process, and you should not hesitate to exercise your Miranda rights.

Seek Help from a Montgomery Criminal Defense Lawyer Right Away

If you have been arrested, you want The Law Office of Richard F. (Matt) Matthews, Jr. on your side. Call 334-398-8408 or contact us online to learn how a Montgomery criminal defense lawyer can help.

No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.

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