When Do Police Need to Read You Your Miranda Rights in Georgia?

You’ve seen it before on TV. A character is arrested by police and promptly read their Miranda rights. Generally speaking, the television suspect is read their Miranda rights as the officer is placing their hands behind their backs to put the cuffs on them. This leads a lot of people toward the mistaken impression that because a police officer did not read them their Miranda rights while they were being cuffed, then the officer violated their rights. This gives them the impression that their entire case should be thrown out because of a procedural failure.

Unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Instead, very specific circumstances exist for an officer to be required to read a citizen their Miranda warnings. If those circumstances aren’t present, then there has been no violation under the law.

In this article, the Cobb County, GA criminal defense lawyers at Andrew L. Schwartz, P.C. will discuss precisely when an officer is obligated to read a suspect their Miranda rights.

When an officer has to read you your Miranda rights in Georgia

A police officer is obligated to read a suspect their Miranda rights when they conduct a custodial interrogation. Thus, there are three conditions that must exist to prompt this obligation. These include:

• It must be conducted by a police officer or police agent – The Miranda questions must be asked by a police officer or someone who is acting on behalf of law enforcement.

• You must be in custody – You must be “in police custody” to trigger a Miranda warning. In some cases, it is obvious that the suspect is in custody. In other cases, it won’t be so obvious. If you are handcuffed, in the back of a patrol car, or in a jail cell, you are likely in police custody. Then, they would have to read you your Miranda warnings.

In some cases, it’s not clear whether or not a suspect is in custody. An individual may be considered in custody even if he or she has yet to be formally arrested. When determining if an individual is in custody, the question becomes: Would a reasonable person in the same circumstances feel free to leave and end the questioning? During some prosecutions, courts will scrutinize the facts of an arrest to determine whether or not the suspect was “in custody” and therefore, law enforcement had an obligation to read them their Miranda rights.

For police to be obligated to read your Miranda rights, there must be an interrogation. The interrogation must take place while the suspect is in custody. If a person is (for example) a suspect is in handcuffs in the back of a police car and later taken out of the car, has their handcuffs removed, and is then interrogated, the questioning would not be considered a custodial interrogation.

Talk to a Cobb County, GA Criminal Defense Lawyer Today 

The Cobb County criminal defense lawyers at Andrew L. Schwartz, P.C. represent the rights of Cobb County residents battling drug charges or DUI. Call our office today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin preparing your defense right away.