Knowing Your Miranda Rights in Las Vegas

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The Miranda rights in Las Vegas and the rest of the United States were created in 1966 as the result of the United States Supreme Court case Miranda v. Arizona. In this case, defendant Ernesto Miranda was was arrested for abducting and raping an 18-year-old woman. After the victim identified him, Miranda was subjected to questioning after which he signed a confession admitting to the crimes. Miranda’s confession featured typed paragraphs indicating that he completely understood his legal rights and that what he said could be used against him, but he was never verbally informed of his right to a defense attorney in Las Vegas. Chief Justice Earl Warren agreed that his rights were, in fact, violated and set forth the stipulation that any person in custody must be clearly informed of their rights.

Miranda rights must be read to a suspect after a custodial arrest and prior to an investigation in Las Vegas. They are as follows:

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 appointed for you

When police question a suspect in custody without giving the Miranda warning, any statement or confession made is presumed to be involuntary. Such statements cannot be used against the suspect in a criminal case. Violation of Miranda rights is only helpful to a suspect if the they are interrogated regarding the crime, he/she confesses to the crime, and the prosecution seeks to introduce the confession into evidence against the defendant. Any evidence discovered as a result of that statement will also likely be thrown out of the case.