"They didn't read me my rights!" I hear this from clients at least half a dozen times a month. A lot of people hold two mistaken beliefs when it comes to Miranda rights. First, they believe that if the cop didn't read you a Miranda warning, a court has to dismiss your case. Second, they believe that you can say anything you want to a cop and it can't be used against you if the cop didn't read you your rights first. Not true, and not true. Everybody gets read Miranda warnings on TV cop shows: "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say . . . blah, blah, blah. . ." It sounds cool. The reality is that cops rarely have to read you a Miranda warning. I don't care what they told you in your Texas State intro to criminal justice class.
Miranda only applies when: (1) you're in custody, and (2) a cop then asks you incriminating questions about the crime for which you are in custody. Most of the time, people get arrested after the fact. A cop thinks he has seen more than enough evidence to arrest someone, and he doesn't think he needs to ask any questions, so he doesn't bother.
Miranda never comes into play. The more dangerous situation for the unsuspecting, however, is when a person is questioned without being "in custody." Believe it or not, just because a cop detains you does not mean that you are "in custody." A person is "in custody" when a person is in detention under circumstances where the person would reasonably believe that he will not be free to leave. There are no magic words to spell this out. And a cop does not have to tell you whether or not you are "in custody." What usually happens is something like this: a cop detains someone and decides that he has enough evidence to arrest him. The cop, however, does not tell the detained person this fact. The cop does not cuff the person or tell the person that he is under arrest.
Instead, the cop plays dumb and acts as if he just wants to get a little more information from the person he has detained in order to find out what's really going on. The detained person, not realizing he is going to jail anyway, decides that he will talk his way out of the situation, and unwittingly makes incriminating statements. These statements often wind up being the last nails in the coffin when the case finally goes to court. If questioned in court, the cop will protest with sincerity worthy of an Oscar that he had not yet decided to take the defendant into custody prior to questioning him. The judge, who runs for reelection, will normally agree with the cop and the statements come into evidence.
Moral of the story: if a cop even implies that you might be guilty of something, throw your TV cop show and criminal justice class schooling out the window and just shut up (other than to truthfully give your name and date of birth). Telling your lawyer "They didn't read me my rights!" probably isn't going to make your case go away.
Thanks, --David