Also known as: Miranda safeguard · Miranda rights · Miranda warnings
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A set of procedural protections requiring that suspects in custody receive warnings about their rights to remain silent and to have counsel before any interrogation begins.
A park ranger stopped Maya Malik at the entrance for rolling through a yield sign. After noticing sampling equipment, the ranger moved Malik to a station room and questioned her for thirty minutes about possible dumping. The statements obtained are admissible because the initial stop remained noncustodial.
Officers arrested Mohan Malhotra on suspicion of fraud and advised him that they had no way of giving him a lawyer but one would be appointed if and when he went to court. Malhotra then made statements that the prosecution seeks to introduce. The warnings suffice because they conveyed the substance of the required rights.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Police arrested Maria Morales and gave her Miranda warnings before questioning. Unknown to Morales, her lawyer was attempting to reach her at the station. Morales waived her rights and confessed. The confession remains admissible because the police had no duty to inform her of the lawyer's efforts before formal proceedings began.
Miranda safeguards apply only when a person is in custody and subjected to interrogation. Ordinary roadside questioning during a brief traffic stop is noncustodial, so warnings are not required. Custody arises when restraints on freedom reach the level associated with formal arrest, such as when a driver is moved to a station room and questioned at length about a separate offense.
Supporting sources
Warnings need not follow a rigid script. Any phrasing that conveys the substance of the rights to silence and counsel is sufficient, even if the language is not verbatim. Courts assess whether the suspect was adequately informed of the core protections.
Supporting sources
Police need not inform a suspect that an attorney is trying to reach him when formal adversary proceedings have not yet begun. A waiver remains valid if it is knowing and voluntary under the totality of the circumstances, even when officers mislead the lawyer about interrogation plans.
Supporting sources
…only question presented by the petition for certiorari reads as follows: “Whether law enforcement officers must give ‘Miranda warnings’ to individuals arrested for misdemeanor traffic offenses.” In Parts I, II, and IV of its opinion, the Court answers that question in the affirmative and explains why that answer requires…