The Origin and Foundation of Miranda Rights
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can or will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford to hire an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you. Hi, I’m Oklahoma City Attorney Aaron Easton, and those are the familiar Miranda warnings that much of us already know, but perhaps misunderstand or don’t fully understand.
So today is part one in a four-part series regarding Miranda, what it means, where it comes from, and how to utilize it if you’re in that position. So to begin, those rights, at least the need for law enforcement to provide you with those rights, comes from the 1966 U.S. Supreme Court case, Miranda v. Arizona. But that’s not actually where the rights are derived from. That court simply set a ruling out that they had to be explicitly given to suspects in certain situations, and we’ll talk about those in the preceding videos.
But briefly today, what I wanted to talk about was exactly where those rights are derived from. So the first two that you hear, the right to remain silent, and the fact that if you choose to give up that right, your statements can and will be used against you, are derived from the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, more specifically from the right against self-incrimination. So the first two parts of that Miranda warning are saying, you do have the right not to speak, but if you choose to give up that right voluntarily, you’re giving up your right against self-incrimination.
Now the second two parts of that Miranda warning come from the Sixth Amendment of the Constitution, the right to an attorney, and then the court has decided, has ruled, that inherent within that right to have counsel in a criminal proceeding, those defendants who are found to be indigent by the court still have the right to counsel, and therefore counsel is appointed in those situations. And the court typically determines whether or not you qualify as indigent early on in the proceeding, typically at an arraignment hearing.
Miranda Rights: Your Constitutional Rights
So that is part one where these rights, these Miranda rights are actually derived from, and they are your United States constitutional rights. Oftentimes, whatever state you’re in, including Oklahoma, has those same rights. But if you have been Mirandized or not Mirandized, if you’re involved in a criminal investigation, you’re gonna wanna speak to an attorney privately and confidentially about the specific facts of your case.
Contact Us for a Initial Consultation
To reach somebody at my office, you can go online to postconviction.lawyer or reach us by phone at (918) 932-2833. We offer a initial consultation to discuss your case and provide you with the legal guidance you need. Don’t hesitate to reach out for help. Your rights are important, and we are here to protect them.