Back when I represented criminal defendants and even now as a city prosecutor I hear this quite frequently, “the officer did not read me my rights!”. The look on the speaker’s face is always communicating the same question…”the charges should be dropped, right?”.

Here is the simple low down on your Miranda Rights. You know….you have the right to remain silent…. Officers should read these rights to any individual they are arresting and certainly before the officer questions the individual. However…

If the officer fails to read the rights what happens? If the person who was arrested was questioned by the officer and said anything incriminating, those statements probably won’t be able to be used against them in court. That’s about it. The charges don’t get dropped, the officer won’t be reprimanded, and the defendant won’t get any type of monetary award.

 

Let me know if you have any questions, and have a great week!

Kevin