State the reasons for the bright-line rule regarding the warnings to suspects adopted in Miranda v. Arizona. Identify two circumstances that have to be present before officers are required to give the Miranda warnings. List three types of questioning for which officers do not have to give the Miranda warnings

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The bright-line rule of Miranda v. Arizona arose because the Court felt custodial interrogation is "inherently coercive.". Why? Firstly, because suspects are held in strange surroundings where they are not free to leave or to call for support from others. Secondly, skilled police officers often use tricks, lies, and psychological pressure to overpower the will of the suspects. Given these circumstances, the Court felt that strong measures were necessary to prevent involuntary confessions. These measures resulted in the now well-known Miranda warnings.

Before police must give Miranda warnings to a suspect, two circumstances must be present. First, the suspect must be in "custody.". Second, the suspect must be subject to "interrogation.".

Police don't have to give Miranda warnings when they question people who are not in custody. This includes questioning people at crime scenes, questioning people before they become suspects, and questioning people who are in Fourth Amendment stops.