If you have watched any television show or movie in the past 40 years involving cops or lawyers, you have heard Miranda warnings:
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You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been read to you?
Although the Miranda warning sounds fairly straightforward, its real world application is not. Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided the Miranda v. Arizona case in 1966, the courts have on numerous occasions considered the issues of what constitutes a Miranda violation and what should happen when a Miranda violation occurs. A Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney can help you navigate through the case law on Miranda rights to determine if your rights were violated and any potential remedy you may have.
What Happens After a Miranda Violation?
The biggest misconception about Miranda Rights is what legally happens when these rights are violated. If a defendant is accused of robbing a bank and the evidence against the defendant is a video of the robbery, finger prints on the gun left at the bank and an illegal confession, then only the confession could potentially be thrown out due to a violation of Miranda Rights. The video and the gun with the finger prints, since they have nothing to do with the confession, would not be subject to Miranda and could be used against the defendant. The Miranda violation does not void an arrest, it only excludes an illegally obtained confession.
Miranda protections are based in the U.S. Constitution and therefore are applicable to any Georgia Criminal Defense case. Additionally, Georgia law has developed its own legal interpretation of these protections and in some instances Georgia law offers even greater protection for person’s Right Against Self Incrimination than the protection provided by the U.S. Constitution. A trained Georgia Criminal Defense Lawyer can help you determine if your Miranda rights were violated and how to attack those violations in court.
For more information on Miranda, please see our other articles: When Should Miranda Warnings be Read? (2/3) and The Rights Contained in Miranda (3/3).
At A. Bishop Law, our Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney welcomes questions on Criminal Defense laws, Traffic Laws and Georgia DUI laws. Please Call or Email us with any questions.
About the attorney: Anne Bishop is a Georgia lawyer with A. Bishop Law in Gainesville, Georgia and handles various DUI / DWI, Marijuana Arrests and other Georgia Criminal Defense matters. The law office of A. Bishop Law can assist clients throughout Georgia including: Hall County (Gainesville, Oakwood, Flowery Branch), Jackson County (Jefferson, Braselton) White County (Helen, Cleveland), Lumpkin County (Dahlonega), Dawson County (Dawsonville), Habersham County (Demorest, Cornelia), and all of Northeast Georgia.
This article and/or video should not be considered nor relied upon as legal advice since it is only intended for general overview and informational purposes. Please consult with an attorney on your specific situation in order to determine an appropriate legal course of action.