Why Your Miranda Rights Are Important

Almost everyone has heard of Miranda. Television shows refer to this right regularly. However, the Miranda warnings are a commonly misunderstood aspect of a criminal defendant’s rights. Your Sacramento criminal defense lawyer is used to clearing up confusion about them. Here is some explanation of what your Miranda rights mean.

The U.S. Supreme Court decided in 2009 that a Miranda warning is sufficient to inform a defendant of his or her Fifth and Sixth Amendment right to speak to a lawyer. You can waive this right and speak to the police on your own if you want, but any Sacramento criminal defense lawyer will tell you that you should stay silent and invoke your right to speak to an attorney. Anything you say to the police is likely to be used against you.

Prior to that, it was held that the defendant had a right to counsel at any police questioning, and that the defendant could not waive this right without his or her Sacramento criminal defense attorney present. However, the new standard means that authorities can approach or question a defendant on their own, and the defendant must explicitly request to speak to his Sacramento criminal defense attorney in order for the right to be invoked.

An experienced Sacramento criminal defense lawyer will send notice to the police and prosecutor’s office that he or she is representing someone under investigation, so that they know not to communicate with the defendant without a lawyer present.

Exercise your Miranda rights. Get legal representation from an experienced Sacramento criminal defense lawyer. Call Param Pabla at (916) 285-7900.