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Definition: Miranda warning is a rule that police officers must follow when they arrest someone. They have to tell the person that they have the right to remain silent, the right to talk to a lawyer, and the right to have a lawyer with them during questioning. This rule comes from a court case called Miranda v. Arizona. If the police don't follow this rule, anything the person says might not be allowed in court.
A "Miranda warning" is a set of warnings that police officers are required to give to a person who has been detained by the police. These warnings are required by the Constitution to protect the rights of the person being detained.
The requirement to give Miranda warnings comes from a Supreme Court case called Miranda v. Arizona. In this case, the Court said that police officers cannot question a person who is being held in custody until that person has been told about their rights.
The Miranda warnings include the right to remain silent, the right to have an attorney present during questioning, and the right to have an attorney appointed if the person cannot afford one.
The Miranda warnings are important because they protect a person's rights under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments of the Constitution. Without these warnings, anything a person says to the police while in custody could be used against them in court, even if they didn't understand their rights.
If the police do not give a person the Miranda warnings or if the person does not understand their rights and says something incriminating, that statement may not be allowed as evidence in court. This is called the exclusionary rule.
Example 1: If a person is arrested and the police start questioning them without first giving them the Miranda warnings, anything that person says during that questioning may not be allowed as evidence in court.
Example 2: If a person is arrested and the police give them the Miranda warnings, but the person does not understand their rights and says something incriminating, that statement may also not be allowed as evidence in court.
These examples illustrate how important it is for police officers to give the Miranda warnings and for people to understand their rights when they are being held in custody.