Despite what you may have seen on TV, you do not necessarily need to be read your Miranda rights when you are arrested for a DUI.
If you’ve ever watched a crime show, you can probably repeat the words from memory: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney….”. But you may be surprised to know that if you’re arrested for a DUI in California, the police don’t necessarily have to read these rights to you.
That’s because Miranda rights only are required in specific situations, and those situations do not often arise during DUI arrests. Read on to learn more about when Miranda rights are — and are not — required.
When Miranda Rights Are Required
The notion that defendants in a criminal case must be informed of their rights under the law arose in a 1966 United States Supreme Court case, Miranda v. Arizona.
Miranda rights only have to be read in limited situations: when you are in custody (generally, when you have been arrested) and when you are being interrogated. Interrogation means more than just asking general questions. The questions must be designed to get you to respond in an incriminating way. In a DUI case, if you are in custody and a police officer asks you how much you’ve had to drink, they would need to first read you your Miranda rights. If that same police officer just asks general questions, like when you bought your car, the reading of Miranda rights would not be required.
If the police are required to read you Miranda rights and fail to do so, your Newport Beach DUI lawyer can typically move to have those statements excluded from evidence. That is because, under the law, your rights under the U.S. Constitution have been violated.
When Miranda Rights Are Not Required
As noted above, Miranda rights only have to be read when a suspect is in custody and the police are interrogating that suspect. If neither of those factors are present, then Miranda rights do not have to be read.
This means that while the police are still investigating the DUI and you are not under arrest, they are not required to read you your Miranda rights. They can ask you any question they’d like without reading you these rights — but remember that you do not have to answer them! Just because the police have not formally read you the rights does not mean that you do not have them. You have a right to remain silent regardless of whether or not the police tell you that you do. Most Newport Beach DUI lawyers would advise you to not answer anything more than the necessary questions (to provide identifying information and inform the police that you are choosing to remain silent) if you are stopped on suspicion of driving under the influence. You are only obligated to provide the officer with your license and registration if you are stopped for a suspected DUI.
If you are under arrest, the police only have to read you the Miranda rights if they plan on interrogating you — that is, if they are going to ask questions that are designed to elicit incriminating responses. If they don’t ask you any of those sorts of questions, you are not entitled to have the rights read. Again, if your Miranda rights are violated — if the police were required to read you your rights and fail to do so — then your attorney will likely file a motion to have any statements you made excluded from evidence.
Miranda rights aren’t as simple or straightforward as you see on TV. If you’ve been arrested for a DUI, you need a tough, smart Newport Beach DUI lawyer to represent you. Attorney Dan E. Chambers can evaluate your case and determine if your Miranda rights have been violated. Contact the Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to schedule a free initial consultation.
