Miranda Warning
Definition
The statement of rights that US police must deliver to a suspect before custodial interrogation, required by the Supreme Court's 1966 decision in Miranda v. Arizona. The warning must cover the right to silence, the evidentiary use of statements, the right to counsel, and the right to appointed counsel if indigent.
- Legal basis
- US Supreme Court decision in Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
- Applies to
- Custodial interrogation only. Statements volunteered without interrogation are not subject to the warning requirement.
- Core rights covered
- Right to silence, right to counsel, right to appointed counsel if indigent, and notice that statements can be used as evidence
Common questions
What exactly must police tell a suspect before questioning?+
The Miranda warning informs a suspect of four key rights: the right to remain silent, that anything they say can be used as evidence against them, the right to have an attorney present, and the right to an appointed attorney if they cannot afford one. Police must deliver this warning before any custodial interrogation.
What happens if police question a suspect without giving the Miranda warning?+
Any confession or statement obtained from a suspect in custody without the Miranda warning becomes inadmissible in court. The warning is a constitutional safeguard, not optional.
Does the warning have to be word-for-word?+
While the exact wording can vary, the warning must cover all four elements: silence, use of statements, right to counsel, and right to appointed counsel. Courts examine whether the warning was clear enough that a suspect understood their rights, but precise phrasing is not required.
Related terms
- Appropriate Adult
- UK PACE Code C requirement: a responsible adult (parent, guardian, social worker, or independent person) who must be present during the detention...
- Cognitive Demand
- The mental processing load a text or statement places on the reader or listener. High cognitive demand reduces accurate comprehension, particularly under...
- Compliant False Confession
- A false confession given knowingly by an innocent suspect who yields to interrogation pressure to escape the immediate situation, to gain a...
- Comprehension Assessment
- In the Miranda context, structured testing of a suspect's understanding of each element of the warning, using instruments such as Grisso's Instruments...
- Custodial Interrogation
- Questioning by police of a person who is in custody, meaning their freedom of movement is restrained in a way a reasonable...
- Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scales
- Psychometric instruments (GSS-1, GSS-2) measuring Yield (acceptance of misleading suggestions) and Shift (changing answers under pressure). Used to assess whether a suspect's...
- Internalised False Confession
- A confession in which the suspect has come to believe they committed the act, often as a result of intense questioning that...
- Kathi Kalu Oghad Principle
- The Indian Supreme Court's 1961 ruling interpreting Article 20(3) as prohibiting compelled testimonial statements. Combined with BSA provisions rendering police confessions inadmissible,...
- PACE Caution
- The rights caution used by police in England and Wales under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (as amended): 'You do...
- PEACE Model
- A structured interview framework used by UK law enforcement and increasingly by private investigators: Preparation and Planning, Engage and Explain, Account, Closure,...
- Reid Technique
- The dominant North American police interrogation method developed by John E. Reid and Fred Inbau (1962; 5th edition 2013). Characterised by a...
- Selvi V. Karnataka
- Indian Supreme Court 2010 ruling holding that compulsory narcoanalysis, polygraph, and BEAP procedures violate Article 20(3) as testimonial compulsion. Governs the admissibility...
Explained in these topics
- Interrogation Techniques: Reid, PEACE and False ConfessionsThe US constitutional requirement (Miranda v. Arizona, 1966) that suspects in custodial interrogation be informed of their right to remain silent, the right to...
- Miranda Rights and Comprehension: What Suspects Actually UnderstandThe statement of rights that US police must deliver to a suspect before custodial interrogation, required by the Supreme Court's 1966 decision in Miranda v. Ar...