What happens if police did not read me my rights?
If you have ever watched a single police show in television or seen a crime movie in a theater, then you have heard of “reading your rights”. No movie or television show about crime or cops has ever been made where someone was arrested and the police didn’t read him his rights.
In the real world, this is one of the most misunderstood areas of criminal law.
The concepts of being read your rights was created in a U.S. Supreme Court case called Miranda v. Arizona. For this reason, the duty to read someone their rights is referred to as “Miranda Warnings” or one’s “Miranda Rights”.
What are Miranda Rights? What are Miranda Warnings?
First and foremost, the police do NOT have to read you Miranda Warnings when they arrest you. This is one of the biggest misconceptions created by television. The only time police need to advise someone of their Miranda Rights, is before any kind of “custodial interrogation”.
Custodial interrogation occurs when a person is detained, is not free to leave, and police want to conduct questioning. In Miranda v. Arizona, the U.S. Supreme Court contemplated scenarios where a person is in police station or jailhouse and the police want to question him/her. In such cases, the person may already be under arrest or may be detained in handcuffs or a jail cell.
What happens if police do not read my my rights?
If police fail to read you your rights when required, the only penalty is the Exclusionary Rule. This means, any statements you made or any evidence they obtained as a result of your statements can be excluded from trial when your case goes to court. Put simply, the prosecution cannot benefit from illegally obtained evidence. When police fail to read Miranda Warnings prior to custodial interrogation, it is unlawful for them to question you.
There is no civil penalty for failing to advise a person of their Miranda Rights, there is no lawsuit that can be filed, and the police cannot be charged. The one and only consequence is that any evidence, including your statements, that were obtained as a result of the unlawful questioning, cannot be used against you in court.