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What happens if police don’t “Read Your Rights” in Raleigh, North Carolina


Contrary to what you may see on television or the movies, a police officer’s failure to read your rights in Raleigh, North Carolina will not result in the automatic dismissal of charges. It simply means that the prosecutor cannot use the results of a custodial interrogation against you at trial.

If placed in police custody, the police are not required to inform you what you’re being charged with or how long you’re going to be detained. They only need to read your Miranda rights if they want to question you and use the your answers against you in a court proceeding. If you decide to voluntarily blurt out a confession or initiate a conversation while in custody, these statements can be used against you whether or not you’ve been advised of Miranda. Anything you say can be used at trial at a later time. That is why the best policy is to remain silent and ask for an attorney.

Generally speaking, remaining silent won’t protect you from getting arrested. For example, if a person is stopped by the police for loitering or trespassing, and then refuses to identify himself to police, they may find themselves under arrest. If stopped for a traffic violation, the police have the right to see your personal identification and failure or refusal to provide identification can lead to an arrest. Cooperating with police is advised. Waiving your constitutional rights is another matter entirely.

If you are arrested, the very best thing you can do is politely decline to answer any questions and ask to speak with an attorney. Without a Miranda warning, nothing that a person may say in response to questioning can be used as evidence at trial. Also, if the police uncover evidence as a result of questioning that violates the Miranda requirement, that evidence may be inadmissible as well.

Information that is voluntarily given to the police is typically admissible at trial. Police should not threaten or use abusive and psychologically coercive techniques to force a ‘voluntary’ confession. If you gave what is being deemed a ‘voluntary confession’ that was obtained through coercion or under dures, we may be able to suppress that statement at trial.

To learn more about your Miranda rights, please contact the attorneys at the Scharff Law Firm in Raleigh, North Carolina. If you have been charged with a crime in Raleigh, North Carolina and you believe your Miranda rights were violated, please contact a criminal defense attorney right away. For more information, feel free to call the Scharff Law Firm at (919) 457-1954.