Can I fight my criminal charge if I was not read my rights? 46 Answers as of November 04, 2011

You always have a right to fight your case. You are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. You have a right to council. I'd recommend you either exercise that right by retaining the council of your choice or request that the court appoint you an attorney at the public's expense. Speaking generally, "Miranda rights" issues are important if the prosecutor is intending to use confessional evidence against a defendant at trial. Miranda rights are an issue with "custodial interrogations;" i.e., when the police interrogate someone who is not free to leave (i.e., "in custody.) If the police did not follow proper protocol during a custodial interrogation, the defense may file a motion to suppress the alleged confession and request that the court bar the confession from being admitted at trial. I'd recommend you privately consult with an attorney if you need specific legal advice for your particular case.

Unfortunately, not having your Miranda rights read to you does not overturn your arrest, or bar the district attorney from prosecuting you for the crime charged. For the most part, the failure to be read your Miranda Rights precludes any evidence that was obtained during questioning from being admitted into evidence. If after you were arrested you did not make any statements to the police before being read your Miranda Rights, then there is nothing that can be precluded from being used against you. In addition, under the "fruit of the poisonous tree" rule, if the police find evidence as a result of an interrogation that violates the Miranda rule, that evidence is also inadmissible at trial. For example, if a suspect tells the police where a weapon is hidden and it turns out that the suspect provided this information in response to improper questioning, the police will not be able to use the weapon as evidence unless the police can prove that they would have found the weapon without the suspect's statements. So it appears from your case that the cause for the arrest cannot be precluded based on a failure to be read your Miranda Rights.

No, reading of Miranda rights only goes to oral statements. If you were not read your rights and then made statements to the police it could be argued that the statements could not be used against you.

Miranda warnings are only required if the police officers interrogate you while you are in custody. If you were interrogated and were not read your rights, that may be grounds to suppress any statements you made (i.e., keep them out of evidence).

Miranda rights is a compklicated area of the law because it depends on the facts and circumstances in the case. Generally the police do not have to read Miranda rights unless you are in custody and are being interrogated.

Miranda warnings are not required for an arrest. They must be given prior to an interrogation. Rick Williams

Miranda rights only come into play if a person is interrogated while in the custody of police. If this happens, thenany inculpatorystatements are subject to being suppressed but that does not mean the case gets dismissed. You need a lawyer, though. Sounds like a defensible case.

Miranda rights have no bearing on your arrest, only to the admissibility of statements you make. If you were not read your rights, any statements you made can be suppressed under certain circumstances. Criminal charges can often be proven without your statements.

I really can't tell what happened as your version of the facts are very jumbled. However, I can tell you that contrary to popular belief, the police do not have to read you your Miranda rights in every situation nor does a Miranda violation constitute an automatic dismissal of the charges. To trigger Miranda warnings, you must be in police custody and they must be interrogating you or asking you potentially incriminating questions. That is determined on a case-by-case basis. If there is a Miranda violation, that only affects the admissibility of statements and possibly evidence that was obtained from those statements that would have not been otherwise discoverable. Miranda violations never affect the validity of the arrest, just the admissibility of the statements given in violation of Miranda. You will need an attorney to thoroughly review the record and police reports to determine if there was a Miranda violation. If so, he could file a suppression motion to keep these statements out and any evidence they found as a result of those statements. However, the police may have enough to proceed against you without the statements.

After being arrested, did you make a confession which could be useed to convict you for the crime for which you are standing? If so, your attorney can file a motion to suppress your confession, and the case can possibly be dismissed. If the prosecution has enough evidence, aside from your statements, they can still proceed with the prosecution and possibly convict you.