What is the Miranda Warning in Texas?
If you were recently arrested for any type of criminal offense in Texas, you should have been given what is known as a Miranda warning. This warning arises out of a US Supreme Court case from the 1960s that concerns a person’s rights under the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution when that person is considered to be in a “custodial” interrogation. In short, you have the right to avoid saying anything to law enforcement officers once you are in a custodial situation, and you are afforded that right under the Fifth Amendment, according to Miranda. Our Texas criminal defense lawyers can explain in greater detail.
What is the Miranda Warning?
In Miranda v. Arizona (1966), the US Supreme Court had to determine what rights a defendant was required to know upon arrest or before custodial interrogation. This is probably language that you have heard in various forms on television shows and in movies, but it is the exact language that the Court used in clarifying a person’s rights when they are taken into custody:
“Prior to any questioning, the person must be warned that he has a right to remain silent, that any statement he does make may be used as evidence against him, and that he has a right to the presence of an attorney, either retained or appointed.”
The Court further explained, after receiving the above required warning: “The defendant may waive effectuation of these rights, provided the waiver is made voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently. If, however, he indicates in any manner and at any stage of the process that he wishes to consult with an attorney before speaking, there can be no questioning. Likewise, if the individual is alone and indicates in any manner that he does not wish to be interrogated, the police may not question him. The mere fact that he may have answered some questions or volunteered some statements on his own does not deprive him of the right to refrain from answering any further inquiries until he has consulted with an attorney and thereafter consents to be questioned.”
In sum, then, the Miranda warning must inform a person taken into custody of the following information:
- 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; and
- If you cannot afford an attorney, an attorney will be provided for you.
The law enforcement official must confirm the person understands these rights, at which point the person can decline to be questioned.
What is a Custodial Interrogation?
Your Miranda rights apply as soon as you are taken into custody or are in a situation considered to be a “custodial” interrogation. It is important to understand what counts as a custodial situation (and what does not) for Miranda purposes.
Essentially, a custodial situation is any situation in which you are handcuffed or otherwise deprived of your freedom in any significant way (such as placing you unhandcuffed in the backseat of a police car with the door locked). If you are not free to leave, you are considered to be in a custodial situation, and you must be informed of your Miranda rights.
Contact a Texas Criminal Defense Attorney Today for Assistance
You have rights upon arrest and in any custodial interrogation in Texas. If your constitutional rights were violated, you may be able to have the charges against you dropped with assistance from one of the experienced Texas criminal defense lawyers at John Reed, Attorney at Law. It is important to know that the Miranda warning is only one requirement concerning your constitutional rights surrounding an arrest. You have numerous rights under the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments, and our firm can assess your case today to determine whether you experienced a violation of your constitutional rights. Contact us for more information.
Source:
supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/384/436/
