Waldorf, MD Criminal Defense: What are Miranda Rights and How Can They Impact My Criminal Defense?
If you have watched TV crime shows or movies, you have probably heard of “Miranda rights.” These are rights protected by both the federal and Maryland Constitutions and are called Miranda rights based on a famous U.S. Supreme Court case from 1966 called Miranda v. Arizona. If you are arrested in Charles County, Maryland, or in other parts of Southern Maryland, the arresting officers are required to read you your Miranda rights. The phrasing is typically as follows:
“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 will be appointed for you.”
These rights flow from the constitutionally protected right of an accused not to make self-incriminating statements to police officers while in custody. This is also the foundation of the right to be free from torture or other forms of coercion. A confession or incriminating statement not freely given is not valid under Maryland and U.S. criminal law. The right to a lawyer is also protected and reinforces these other rights.
When a person held in custody invokes either right — the right to remain silent and/or the right to a lawyer — the police must stop asking questions.
How Does This Help My Maryland Criminal Defense?
Under current constitutional rules, any evidence collected in violation of a person’s constitutionally protected rights must be excluded from use at the person’s criminal trial. Thus, if the police fail to read you your Miranda rights, and then, while being questioned, you confess to the crime, that confession cannot be used at your trial. That confession was obtained in violation of your constitutionally protected rights. Further, if you have been read your rights and then invoke those rights — such as demanding an attorney — if the police continue questioning you, any statement made after that point will also be excluded.
But, as with all things criminal law, these issues are nuanced and complicated. This is a key reason to make sure that you contact experienced and top-rated Maryland criminal defense lawyers like the ones at the Law Office of Robert Castro. Call us at (301) 705-5137 if you have been arrested or charged. We are available around the clock, 24/7.
For example, there is an exception for Miranda rights involving routine traffic stops for traffic violations. There is no need for the police to read a person his or her Miranda rights. But, if the traffic stop proceeds to an arrest, at some point, the exception ends and there is a requirement that the Miranda rights be read to the person being held in custody. But, where is that line? Good Maryland criminal defense attorneys are needed to make the argument that statements must be excluded because the Miranda rights were not read. Your chances of avoiding conviction increase the more evidence that can be excluded from use at your trial.
Contact Waldorf, Maryland Criminal Defense Lawyer Robert Castro Today
This article has been provided by the Law Office of Robert Castro. For more information or questions contact our office to speak to an experienced Maryland criminal defense lawyer at (301) 705-5137. We are Waldorf, MD Criminal Defense lawyers. Our address is 2670 Crain Highway, Waldorf, MD 20601.
