What Does It Mean to Invoke My Miranda Rights?

You know, so many times we’ve heard this Miranda rights concept in our lives. Many times when you’re watching a television show and someone’s getting arrested the first thing that you do is hear them say, “I know my Miranda rights.”

Or you might see a police officer who’s being portrayed by an actor start saying to the subject or the person that’s being arrested, you have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you and then usually they cut to the next scene. Well, those are your Miranda rights.

Many, many years ago the United States Supreme Court decided that before anyone who gave a statement that hurt them that actually incriminated them in a crime, before that statement could be used against them in court they had to be read their Miranda rights and your Miranda rights are there to protect you. Whenever you’re in custody for a crime, and that means that the police are holding you and you’re not free to leave, if the police want to question you they have to read you those rights and very simply they are; you have the right to remain silent, anything that you say can and will be used against you. You have the right to an attorney, if you can’t afford an attorney one will be provided to you. You have the right to have your attorney with you at all times before and during questioning and if during the course of time when you’re being questioned you want to stop the questioning at any time you’re free to do so.

So are essentially your Miranda rights. If the police read them to you properly then anything that you say can be used against you but if they don’t read you your Miranda rights well, then there’s going to be a lot of questions about whether or not your statements can be admissible against you as evidence.