Miranda Warnings

The Miranda Warning is a warning which is given to criminal suspects who are in the custody of law enforcement in the United States. The Miranda warnings was mandated by the United States Supreme Court decision in the case of Miranda v. Arizona, in 1966, as a way to protect a criminal suspect's Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and advise a suspect of his/her Sixth Amendment right to legal counsel during police interrogation.

The standard Miranda Warning states: "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 speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you at government expense."

Under a truly just system, criminal suspects could only be interrogated in the presence of their attorney. Not just that the suspect would be advised of the right to have an attorney present, but that the law would require that police could only interrogate a suspect in the presence of the suspect's attorney (assuming that after consulting with the attorney the suspect wanted to speak with the police). This would ensure that every suspect in police custody was fully aware of his/her legal rights and able to most fully and effectively exercise those rights.

But, the police don't want suspects to fully understand and exercise their rights! While the United States Supreme Court ruling in Miranda v. Arizona requires police to provide a "Miranda warning" to suspects in custody, police work hard to downplay the importance of suspects remaining silent and consulting with legal counsel. Police use several tricks to get suspects to make statements not covered by Miranda, or to waive their Constitutional rights all together and make a statement to the police which will then be used against the suspect in court.

Learn more about the Miranda Warning and your Constitutional Rights here.