William B. Mange

Criminal Defense Lawyer in Austin, Texas

Criminal Law Blog

August 10, 2005

Clients sometimes tell me that they were arrested and the police didn’t read them their rights. Shouldn’t they have?

Well, of course they should have. But the real question is: “what happens to the State’s case against my client, knowing that the police arrested my client, but didn’t read him his Miranda warning?”

Here is the answer. If the police arrest you and then interrogate you, but don’t read the Miranda warning to you, then anything you say as a result of that interrogation will be suppressed. “Suppressed” simply means the State cannot offer those statements into evidence.

But we’re talking about the law here. So what are the exceptions to the rule?

Well, let’s talk about what the word “interrogation” means. It simply means somebody working for law enforcement is asking questions. If a man were, for example, arrested for DWI and had a conversation like the one below, it would not be an “interrogation.” Picture the man sitting in the back seat of a patrol car, his hands cuffed behind his back, feeling pretty irritated that he was just arrested.

Man: I can’t believe you arrested me for DWI! This is total bull.
Cop: Uh huh.
Man: You know, I didn’t have that many beers. It was only five.
Cop: Uh huh.
Man: You shouldn’t have let my girlfriend drive away in my car. If you had searched my car, you would have found the cocaine in the console.
Cop: Uh huh.
Man: Yeah, I bought it last week for my date tonight.
Cop: Uh huh.

Everything that man said is admissible against him. Why? There is no interrogation going on here. The cop doesn’t ask a single question. Yes, the man is under arrest (in custody), but no, nobody is interrogating him. So the requirement that his Miranda rights be read to him doesn’t protect him.

Let’s try it the other way, then. There is an interrogation, but the defendant is not under arrest.

The detective calls the suspect at home. The detective first heard of the suspect because the suspect had called the police, complaining that his car had been stolen. And the phone conversation (secretly audio taped by the cop) goes like this.
Cop: Mr. Smith?
Man: Yes?
Cop: Mr. Smith, my name is Detective Jones. Can I talk with you for a minute?
Man: OK.
Cop: We searched a car yesterday and found your car.
Man: Great!
Cop: Well, I’m glad I can give you the good news. There is a problem, though.
Man: What?
Cop: There was a kilo of cocaine in the trunk of your car.
Man: No way!
Cop: Oh, yeah. You knew that cocaine was in your trunk, didn’t you?
Man: I can’t believe this! I told my girlfriend to take it out of the trunk and put it in the storage locker! I just can’t believe this.

Was there interrogation? Sure. The cop specifically asked a question about the cocaine. But was the man in custody (under arrest)? Nope. He was sitting at home. He wasn’t under arrest (yet) for anything.

You might think “nobody could possibly say such stupid stuff to a cop.” Well, some people do, even judges. If you’re curious, you can read about that on the following link. In the following link, a police officer calls a judge and secretly tapes his conversation with her about a theft accusation against her.

http://www.14thcoa.courts.state.tx.us/opinions/htmlopinion.asp?OpinionId=80999

If you are in a blog directory and you want to subscribe to my blog, just hit “add,” then left-click on the RSS button below and drag it over to the “add” area. Thanks.

rss

William B. Mange

Criminal Defense Lawyer in Austin, Texas

Criminal Law Blog

Most recent entries.

All past entries.