The Miranda warning, also referred to as Miranda rights, (or a "caution" in most Commonwealth countries) is a warning given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody (or in a custodial interrogation) before they are interrogated to preserve the admissibility of their statements against them in criminal proceedings.
The Miranda warning is part of a preventive criminal procedure rule that law enforcement is required to administer to protect an individual who is in custody and subject to direct questioning or its functional equivalent from a violation of his or her Fifth Amendment right against compelled self-incrimination.
Miranda v. Arizona, the Supreme Court held that the admission of an elicited incriminating statement by a suspect not informed of these rights violates the Fifth and the Sixth Amendment right to counsel.[Note 1] Thus, if law enforcement officials decline to offer a Miranda warning to an individual in their custody, they may interrogate that person and act upon the knowledge gained, but may not use that person's statements to incriminate him or her in a criminal trial.
In Berghuis v. Thompkins, the Court held that unless a suspect actually states that he is relying on this right, his subsequent voluntary statements can be used in court, and police can continue to interact with (or question) him.
( Extract from Wikipedia )
The Captain threw me the print out from his printer. He was upset with me as we just lost an important suspect as I had screwed up in the arrest. It all started that morning when I stepped into the Precinct. I had a tough night, arguing with Jenny on should I be there for her Mother's birthday that evening. Jenny had done up a large meatloaf for the party. It was not I did not want to attend, but there was work and more to it, I had a baseball game on that evening. We ended up with me sleeping on my armchair armed with my remote trying to learn how to program the machine to record on the time set. It was a futile effort as I can hardly read the small prints on the small booklet they gave. In the end, I watched some 'mechanical bull going at it' on the late night slots before I slept later.
"Coffee on your table and there is the report." Frank wished me my entrants greetings. This one means its going to be a long day. I stopped at my desk and saw the layout but the folder caught my attention' Sonny 'Lisbon' Caine. He was hot property of everyone from Homicide to Narcotics, and also Organized Crime. He came to the city some ten years ago, removed some local turf gangs and took over then. That morning he controlled a major part of the city and still remained the Mayor' best friend. He even attended our last year Fund Raising Ball and shook hands with the Captain.
I grabbed the folder and walked out with it, pulling Frank along with me to the Police Yard where Di Angelo operates his Hot Dog Stand. The man had set up some tables and extended his menu to include his other meals from the previous outlets. I took my usual; no green and all meat meal with coffee while Frank settled for a morning doggie special.
"They found his mistress dead in the alley on 2nd Street; the one after the circus clown joint." I knew that alley; pissed there a couple times once on a stake out at the circus clown joint. It was reported that they were going to bomb it but turned out to be a hoax. The only place after the accumulated coffee processed into your bladder was the alley, so we all settled for it. You could termed that we hosed off some filth off the walls that night.
"So what gives?" I was trying my impression of a punk talk.
"The alley had a camera. We captured the scene. Sonny was there. It showed him pull the gun." Frank drowned his doggie with the black coffee served by Di Angelo.
"So give it to Dusty or the others. I had a bad morning, and needed to slowed down my nerves." I was actually thinking of going to the shooting range and improved on my score.
"Nope, Cap wants you. He reckon he owes Percy' dad the favor." I'll be damned. Percy was my new partner; rookie and son of the other Precinct's Sargeant. Cap wants me to teach the young man the trade. I remembered replying that we ain't in the Academy no more. Here we learn the trade like the hookers; you get better after a few tricks.
Soon I was in the car with Percy driving. The young rookie was a neat dresser; dark shades suit over a white shirt with gleaming shoes. Like his old man, he probably carries the badge on the inside of the jacket so he can flashed it when needed. I kept mine in the trousers pocket and took it when needed. Percy was a small one; speak when spoken and never questions at all times. He was as tall as myself, better build than my younger days and expensive haircut too. I was told he carries a .357 Magnum; his father's favorite. They stopped criminals rushing at you if shot at the chest. I prefer my M1911; it shoots off kneecaps and hip joints. I got evidence of them in the joints doing time.
For this Sonny case, we requested a patrol car to followed just in case. I been on such arrest and was shooed off with ten guys holding shotguns. I never made it past the front lawn that time. Since then, I never made an arrest without the boys in blue.
But this time I am driving in to the door steps. Or to be exact, the entrance to the cafe. I stopped there and got out while Percy went for the two bodyguards by the doorway. With Percy' size and holding the shotgun, he does looked intimidating. The bodyguards are not brave but loyal as they reached for their guns under the jacket but I stopped them.
"Percy' father is the Sargeant at 2nd, so if I were you, I would not risk having two Precinct declaring war on your boss."
I cautioned them off and walked into the cafe. There was Sonny sitting there with two of his body guards at the next table. The man himself was eating his late breakfast when I stepped towards him. His guards stood up but Sonny motioned them to sit down.
"Morning, Jim. I remembered you. You came to my house but my boys were rude to see you off. What was it you wanted me then? A traffic violation? Or was it a murder of first degree? Sad, there were no witnesses." Sonny spoke out before he bit into the sausage. My witness left town on his own the night before and was never seen. It would seen that Sonny had friends among my friends who tipped him off on who was the witness.
"Sonny, I am here to arrest you for the murder of Marcy Gordon at the alley on 2nd Street..." The man did not let me get started on my Miranda rights before he stood up and interrupted me.
"Show me your evidence. I have not seen her since yesterday afternoon when she left my house." Sonny shouted out. "So barked those same words to your Captain before I sued him for my rights."
I threw the envelope onto the table. It flapped open to show the black and whites of the crime and the blurred shots of the man who drew the gun on Marcy Gordon.
"Those are my rights to arrest you. So turned around." I shouted back, and was to recite my usual Miranda rights when his body guards came at me with their fists raining on me. I blocked and deflected it but they still came until Percy came in and shot the ceiling light. The Remington make a loud noise in the interior of the cafe, and my ears were ringing deaf by then but the battling twins have stopped their rumble on me. They had turned to look at Percy and then was the time I took out my gun and rammed it hilt first into the back of their waist, aiming for the kidney. I took out the left one and then punched the right one on his face with the gun.
That felt good. I turned to Sonny and asked him for his hands. I cuffed him up and dragged him out. Percy followed suit and it was then I saw the other two guards outside; cuffed to the lamp post. I wished I had webbings so they would be hanging upside down. I pushed Sonny into the rear of the car and told Percy to drive.
At the Precinct, I had Sonny taken to the Discipline Room, as we liked to called it instead of Interrogation Room. The later may referred us to those brown shirt in black boots.
"So if your picture showed me there, does not mean I killed Marcy Gordon. Show me your solid evidence. I want my lawyer." We are all humans inside us. I had a bad morning and being added to that, given this scum to process, plus his guards worked me over with some bruises; I had to let it all out. I slammed the set of keys I was holding onto the table missing his right hand fingers. Sonny moved his body back and glared at me.
"Jimmy, this is Sonny you are trying to scare." Sonny smiled. "Your wife teach my kid at the school. She knows better than to knock hard on the table. We all have rights as citizen of the city."
The scum mentioned my family and that irked me off; I rushed forth to grabbed him by collar. I dragged him up to his feet and stared into his eyes.
"You touched my wife, and I ....." That was when the room door was opened to admit in Percy and the darned lawyer of the scum. Just before I could complete my sentence, Sonny hollered his mouth off.
"Police brutality! Help me!" Sonny did a good number then when I felt Percy grabbing my arms to pulled me back. Sonny' lawyer was there shouting out his knowledge on the finer aspects of the law and inviting others to view my barbaric acts. I pushed Percy off and walked out of the room.
Like a pent-up bull who missed the matador in the ring. That was what transpired during the late morning and then at afternoon I was in the Captain's room listening to this outburst.
"You did not read him his rights and he goes free again?" The Captain was in rage. "Don't you know your protocol when handling custody? And who taught you to harassed suspects? The fake guys on TV, or was it your instructor."
It hit me then; I did not read his rights, the same words I uttered every time I catched those scums, but this was one time, I failed to do so. All because I was caught up with my emotions and Jenny's mother.
God, I disliked the trip there as I would be approached by the siblings who are better at earning money than me. They are all better educated and have bigger homes than mine. Jenny married me for the adventure of being a policeman' wife but now she thinks I am more like a politician now; all lies and b*** sh**. I could had defended myself that my role gives her brothers and their wives more peaceful sleep. But who cares about how and why I did that role; they felt it their right to sleep peacefully in bed.
"Jim, we all have rights. So does Sonny." I listened hard at the Captain. "Now we got to start all over again, and he may had already buried the cam clip we got by now."
Damned informers worked at every level, including in the Precinct. It their rights to do the needed for their bosses. Right now, I done nothing for my boss.
"The DA also called. The pictures we had was not clear to identify Sonny. And it did not show Sonny shooting at her; merely pointing a gun. Not shooting it." I knew that later when Frank told me after I left the Discipline Room, he was told by Forensics that later part of the cam clips seemed to be blacked out. Someone erased the evidence.
"Sonny walks out of here just now. A free man. All because you did not do your task like a true professional." The Captain words hurt me deep down but I would be fighting a losing war against him. I walked out and met Percy at my desk.
"I should had been there earlier. I was delayed by the need to cuff them." Percy was being nice about it. I thanked him and went back home. Jenny had left for the party and I was all alone. Soon after some glasses of vodka, I was awaken early at dawn. The TV was still on and it was the early morning edition news.
"Sonny Caine; a well known businessman was gunned this early morning in his own bed by his business partner Barry Newson, a retired army officer. Mr Newson as were told was staying here too. He was injured in a shootout at the home of Mr Caine when the personal body guards of Mr Caine confronted Mr. Newson." The news caster then showed a clip of Mr Newson who was lying on the ambulance stretcher.
"The b******d killed my baby, You can f*** her, I told him but never f***ed with her life. He took hers, and I settled for my right to take his." The older man was wheeled away to the waiting ambulance. I picked up the folder on my coffee table. I read the name of the deceased lady; Cindy Newson.
I guessed there are some rights you need not to speak to know. They are there by relationship or by action of your task. I turned off the TV and walked to the bedroom. Jenny was asleep there. I climbed in and spooned up to her.
"Mother asked about you. She was worried you were not there." I heard her in the silent bedroom of ours. "I took some of the meatloaf back for you. Mother said you deserved the right to taste it too."
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