You Have the Right to Remain Silent… and 4 Other Ones

If you’ve ever watched a police drama like CSI, Blue Bloods, or NCIS, you’ve certainly heard a police officer make an arrest somewhere throughout the course of the show. Upon placing the cuffs on the perpetrator, 9 times out of 10 I’d bet that you hear words that go just like this:

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?”

At times it can feel like the writers of a show add this phrase into arrest scenes simply to get lines that require little to no work to create. Aside from my cynical analysis of writers on police drama shows, I assume that few of us in this class have ever heard these words directed at them. For many, the words that we see on TV mean nothing to us.

Of course, all the students in this class are model Penn Staters. No one here would ever have a reason to hear these words, right? Well, let’s imagine that sometime in the distant future you have a little too much to drink at a social gathering in downtown State College. In this theoretical situation, you have so unluckily found yourself being reprimanded by the police and taken into custody. Of course, you are likely inebriated at the time of arrest, though the police will state what is formally known as your Miranda Rights prior to taking you into custody. Following this, you will be asked whether or not you understand these rights. If you care to learn about specifics of the case, Miranda v. Arizona, that established these rights and codified them to law, feel free to click here.

I am not writing this blog to provide you with a way of getting out of trouble with the law… rather I think that it is essential that each person here knows what they are entitled to do (and not do) should they be caught acting a fool. Firstly, each and every one of us possesses the ability to say nothing whatsoever so as to not self-incriminate. This means that any question that the police ask you can be met with no response with no further repercussions.

On top of this, every person has the right to an attorney to help defend them in court. This speaks to the incredible importance of ‘innocent until proven guilty’ in the American legal system that I discussed in the previous post. This evolves from a rather incredible story in Gideon v. Wainwright.  On this, even if you can’t afford a lawyer, you have the right to one which will be given to you at no additional cost via your area’s public defender office. If you can afford one, your better bet is typically going to be forking over the money. As it stands, the public defenders here in the U.S. are so overburdened by petty arrests for low-level, non-violent drug crimes that they are typically not going to be able to give you an adequate amount of time to dig into your case. Long story short, I think it’s pretty cool that you can get a real attorney here in the U.S. for free, even if the system is pretty opposed to your success.

Finally and most importantly in my mind, if you are not read your Miranda Rights prior to questioning the police are unable to use anything that you say or do as evidence in court. That means that no matter what, always take note of whether or not you are read your rights. It doesn’t matter where you are or when an arrest occurs — your rights must be stated aloud.

So next time you go out and get cuffed by a cop, remember that more often than not your best defense is keeping your mouth shut… although this might not work quite as well with your parents.