· Invoking the Right to Remain Silent
In general, Miranda rights include two basic rights: the right to remain silent and the right to have an attorney present during interrogation. As with the right to an attorney, to gain the full protection of the right to silence, a suspect must unequivocally invoke the right to remain silent. Simply remaining silent does not trigger the right to have interrogation cease. The simple words “I want an attorney” are enough to demonstrate that one wishes not speak without counsel present, however, law enforcement may still try to press the suspect to talk, don’t, stay the strong silent type so to speak.
The following provides a summary of what it means to invoke the right to remain silent, with information about Miranda rights under the Fifth Amendment.
· Invoking the Right to Remain Silent and Police Protocol
Law enforcement officers must inform suspects of their Miranda rights to remain silent and to have an attorney present. As long as the suspect understood these rights as explained, statements made in subsequent interrogation may be admissible as evidence against the suspect if he or she did not clearly invoke the right to remain silent or the right to an attorney. Often law enforcement will have the suspect sign a waiver of their right to remain silent. Often this is accompanied with a promise “this is the only time we can help you” or “we’ll go easy on you if you help us.” This is one of their
ploys to get you talk to make their job easier. Don’t fall for it.
Practically speaking, this means that if police read a suspect his or her Miranda rights, the suspect understands (and even remains silent for a period), police may continue or later attempt to interrogate the suspect. The Fifth Amendment will not prevent statements made after a period of silence from being used as evidence, unless the suspect clearly communicated a desire to invoke the right to remain silent.
Even when a suspect fails to properly invoke the right to remain silent, it must be established that the suspect waived the right in order for statements made during interrogation to be admissible as evidence against the suspect. However, this waiver does not need to be explicit. Suspects can waive their right to remain silent if they proceed to make voluntary statements after being informed of and understanding their Miranda rights.
· How Can You Clearly Invoke Your Right To Remain Silent?
Because silence and body language are ambiguous, perhaps the clearest way to invoke your right to remain silent is to tell an interrogator, "I invoke my Miranda right to remain silent." However, there are other ways to clearly invoke. For example, among other things, you can state:
That you're exercising your right to remain silent;
That you want to remain silent;
That you only want to speak with your attorney; or
That you want to speak with your attorney first.
While there are no specific words required to invoke, the Supreme Court has held that an invocation is sufficient so long as "a reasonable police officer, in the circumstances, would understand the statement to be a request for an attorney."
One thing to be careful with are statements indicating a likely intent or a future intent to invoke your right to silence. For example, the Supreme Court has determined that the statement, "maybe I should talk to a lawyer" is ambiguous and doesn't constitute an invocation. Also, while the statement, "I plan to invoke my right to silence" could be considered an invocation, it could also be interpreted to mean that you will invoke the right in the future and not at the present.
Skilled interrogators understand how to parse your words and to create ambiguity, so your best bet is to leave them no wiggle room when invoking your rights. Also, you don't need to wait for your Miranda rights to be read to you before you invoke. In fact, you can invoke your rights as soon as you're being arrested, even before your rights are read to you. While not always required, it also doesn't hurt to continue invoking your rights especially if you have reason to believe that your invocation was not heard or understood.
What Happens When You Invoke Your Right To Silence?
As soon as you invoke your right to remain silent, all police questioning must stop. Your right is not specific to the person questioning
you, so law enforcement cannot simply switch interrogators and continue questioning. If the police continue questioning after you've clearly invoked your right to remain silent, then this would be a violation of your Miranda rights and any subsequent statements you make may not be used against you in court.
If you have questions about a criminal defense matter, we are local lawyers with offices located Kansas City metro at 19401 East 40 Highway Suite 130 Independence, MO 64055 and Joplin area at 214 W. 5th St. Joplin, MO 66401. Free Consultation. call today. Make the right choice.
