U.S. Supreme Court Case Assignment: The Miranda Rights (Essay Sample)

The Miranda Rights
Name
Institution
The Miranda Rights
The Miranda warning, also referred to as the Miranda rights, is a right to remain silent given by a police officer to a crime suspect in custody before any interrogation takes place. Usually, this is done to preserve admissibility of their statements against them during criminal proceedings. Each person that is placed under arrest in the United States usually has to be given his or her Miranda warnings which are drawn from the 5th Amendment, classified under the Bill of Rights. This implies that if an individual is not made aware of his or her to counsel before being interrogated, then the statement obtained during cross-examination may not be admissible against the defendant in court. It should also be noted that police are only required to Mirandize an individual if they intend to conduct an interrogation under custody (Dorsett and McVeigh, 2012).
Additionally, arrests can sometimes occur without the Miranda warning being given to a suspect. However, if the police later make a decision to cross-examine the suspect, the warning has to be given at that particular time. Moreover, the police’s vigilance to this rule implies less chance of a case being overturned in court because of poor procedure on their part and also to ensure due process during the trial. Nevertheless, if the safety of the public is at stake, then questions may be asked without the suspect being Mirandized and any other evidence acquired may be used against the defendant under such circumstances. Concisely, the Miranda warning is all about being protected from self-incrimination under the 5th Amendment.
The person in custody or arrested must, however, still answer questions asked concerning their name, identity, age, and address. Also, the individual can be searched in order to protect the arresting officer in case the person is in possession of a weapon. If it happens that a suspect has been Mirandized and he or she waives these rights, implying one wishes to speak to the police freely without the presence of an attorney, one may be later allowed to change his o...