What Happens If the Police Fail to Give You Your Miranda Warnings?
If the police fail to give you your Miranda rights, this does not mean that the criminal charges against you will be dismissed. However, any statement or confession that you make will be presumed to be made involuntarily and cannot be used against you in court. In addition, any evidence discovered as a result of your statement or confession could be suppressed and not be allowed to be used in your criminal case. The prosecutor could try to argue that this additional evidence would have been discovered anyway by other means and that this evidence should be admissible.
There are exceptions that allow statements you make either before being given your Miranda warnings or afterward to be used against you. These include the following situations:
- Voluntary statements. As long as the police do not try to get you to make incriminating statements, they are not required to warn you not to make voluntary statements. If you voluntarily offer incriminating statements, they may be admissible in court.
- Spontaneous declarations. Some people will express surprise when arrested and blurt out statements, such as “You got me” or “I do not know what made me do that.” If you make a spontaneous statement like this, the judge may allow it to be used against you.
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