Explain the two key factors about police procedures that were addressed by the Miranda decision.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

First, the Miranda warning and the rights encapsulated within it do not become necessary until a person is taken into custody. What constitutes custody can be a bit murky, but essentially it means when a person has been arrested. For instance, the police may have a suspicion that someone committed a crime, but no evidence. They then conduct a Terry stop, a temporary detention that allows the police to conduct a pat-down for public safety and to identify an individual. They ask the suspect questions. At this point, the person is not in custody of the police, but then again, the person is not free to go. Perhaps, the suspect then says something that gives the officer probable cause to make the arrest, which the officer does by placing handcuffs on the suspect and telling the person that he is under arrest. At this point, for purposes of Miranda, the suspect is in custody, and before questioning, the individual must be read the Miranda rights. This raises the second major factor in the Miranda decision, and that is what constitutes interrogation. If the officer asks the suspect his name and address, without reading the Miranda warning, would that be in violation? The answer is no. Administrative questions are very different from the interrogation of a suspect for a crime. It is only when questions pertaining to the individual’s involvement in the crime are asked that the Miranda warning must be read.